A Little Less Conversation
by albe-chan
Summary: A chance encounter leads Lily Potter into making a mistake that sets her whole life on its head, and changes the very foundations of who she thought she was. Only problem is, her brother doesn't approve, her parents want her to marry the guy she's just met, and her ex-boyfriend is hellbent on getting her back, by whatever means necessary. MATURE. NextGen Non-Magic AU. LilyScorpius.
1. Chapter 1

****A Little Less Conversation****

written by: albe-chan

 **DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

SUMMARY: A chance encounter leads Lily Potter into making a mistake that she can't bring herself to regret. A mistake that sets her whole life on its head, and changes the very foundations of who she thought she was. Only problem is, her brother doesn't approve, her parents want her to marry the guy she's just met, and her ex-boyfriend is hellbent on getting her back, by whatever means necessary.  
Scorpius Malfoy wasn't looking for a woman. He wasn't even looking for a good time, until bumping into the one woman he isn't allowed to have. But when things heat up between them, and it becomes obvious the woman he might be falling for needs him for more than a good lay, he'll have to put his oldest friendship and everything he stands for on the line.

COMMENTS: Not finished, un-beta'd and kind of being written by the seat of my pants. Please bear with me as I try to figure this out, and don't hesitate to offer constructive criticism and comments! :)

XXX

Lily Potter breathed deep, centering herself, achieving inner and outer peace, feeling herself relax into the movement as she transitioned into downward facing dog. At five foot eight and with a long fairly lean body, even at twenty eight, Lily considered herself pretty attractive. She had long, dark red hair that refused to be tamed from its natural waves and curls, intelligent hazel eyes, a quick smile and even quicker temper, and she'd been in a relationship with the same man for going on five years. All in all, Lily considered herself in a good spot in life. And with the morning sun shining on her face and the silence of her apartment, she felt utterly content.

"Wow, babe, your ass looks great when you do that," her boyfriend, Harvey, said as he came out of the bedroom, and spanked her lightly. Lily felt her content inner peace shatter.

"How many times have I told you not to interrupt me?" she asked, shifting into a plank and then further to Chaturanga Dandasana, even as her shoulders tensed and she felt annoyance grating her nerves further as Harvey Denton Williams III laughed.

"C'mon babe, you're just stretching, right?" he mumbled, not looking up from his phone.

The redhead grit her teeth but bit her tongue. No use starting a fight first thing in the morning. That had been the basis of their relationship it had seemed lately. Arguments. She frowned a tiny bit, even as she wondered, traitorously, if she was just treading water with Harvey. Hell, she was almost thirty, and he would be thirty three next month, and he still hadn't proposed, or proposed the idea of marriage in the slightest. And they'd been together for five years already.

 _No, you still have plenty of time. Besides, he's focused on his career and you've just gotten your own studio. Plenty of time still. Harvey is a good man._ "Do the ass one again," Harvey said and Lily grit her teeth again. _An idiot, but a good man_.

"I'm trying to focus," she said.

Harvey snorted. "Whatever. You wanna get brunch when you're done?"

The redhead waved a hand and moved to upward facing dog. "Sure, fine, whatever."

By the time she finished her daily yoga, the kind she did for herself, to relax before she started her errands for the day and get centered, Lily still felt nettled. As a yoga teacher, she oftentimes found she wasn't quite as able to appreciate the movements and poses while teaching classes, but today, a sunny May Saturday, she was still unsettled, despite it being her day off. The redhead undid her hair and went to take a shower.

"Really?" Harvey said, having followed her, when she started the water. Lily glanced over at him. "Now it's going to be another hour before you're ready."

The redhead rolled her eyes and stripped her sports bra she'd gone running first thing in. "I'm sweaty and gross, I'm not going out without a shower," she said, and slid off her shorts. Harvey didn't seem to notice, or care. He scrolled through whatever he was looking at on his cellphone.

"Well I'm gonna go get something now, then, from the diner. I'm starved. What d'you want?"

"Blueberry pancakes."

Harvey rolled his eyes. "You always get the same thing."

Lily, pulling the shower curtain closed after stepping in, shrugged. "I like blueberry pancakes," she said. And the diner around the corner from her apartment made the best ever.

"You should try something new. It's boring always having the same thing." Harvey left the bathroom and Lily frowned, letting the hot spray relax her. What the hell did that mean? Was she boring? Did he _think_ she was boring? She frowned some more, washing up on autopilot, wondering if they were in a rut, and then realized, horrifyingly, they might be. The sex had become routine, the interactions lacking, and all the zest and fun from when they'd first gotten together had evaporated.

 _So, just spice things up a bit. Ruts happen. They happen a lot, to the best of couples. No one married for fifty years hasn't had at least one._ Lily told herself firmly she would spice things up. She could be adventurous. She could try something new. And maybe, when Harvey came back, she'd still be naked after her shower, and she'd spice up some of the romance too.

But Harvey didn't come back for a long while, and Lily, after an hour, got dressed for her day, writing out a list of errands and a short grocery list for herself, tacking on a bottle of wine. When Harvey did return, her pancakes in tow, Lily realized he'd been gone for ages. "What took so long?" she asked blandly, opening the bag of food.

"They were busy. Saturdays, you know. Barely got in there." Lily glanced up and smiled at Harvey. With his dark hair and blue eyes and dimples, he was the classic boy next door, grown into a man with the law degree from an Ivy League school that came as a prerequisite in his family. He was handsome and charming and Lily told herself she loved him.

"True."

"I was also talking to one of the new waitresses in there. Kelly. Y'know, the blonde one?" Lily tried not to let her temper get riled.

"Oh yeah?" she said easily, pulling out pancakes, getting the little cup of maple syrup.

"Yeah. She's sweet. Wanted to ask my professional advice about whether her aunt could sue a contractor who stiffed her." Lily felt her suspicion fading and was glad she hadn't overreacted for nothing. In fact it was kind of sweet Harvey would give the girl, who Lily did indeed recall from seeing her a few times, advice for her aunt.

"That's so nice of you, just giving her advice to pass on," she said, drenching her pancakes. Harvey smiled back.

"Yeah. And then we talked a bit about her schooling. She's going back to Princeton in September. Can you believe she's a law student there?"

Lily felt her eyebrows go up. "Really?" she drawled. "What else did you talk about?"

Harvey's mouth thinned a little bit. "Nothing, Lily," he said blandly, pouting.

"Just curious," she said defensively.

Blue eyes rolled. "I can tell when you're being jealous and untrusting."

"And I can tell when you're full of bullshit," she said. "What else did you and Kelly talk about, even though it was so busy?"

Harvey scoffed, going to the bedroom. "Whatever, Lily. I'm gonna take a shower. You left me enough hot water, right? Your apartment is shit for it."

Lily flipped him off and sighed. _He's a good man. An idiot, and a jerk sometimes, but a good man_.

She went out to do her errand running, still thinking about the rut she and Harvey seemed to be stuck in. By the time she got to the grocery store, she was deep in thought, and as she perused organic vegetables, she didn't notice the tall, blond hunk three feet to her left. Lily wandered down from greens to get some carrots for salad and bumped her basket into something, or rather someone, solid, jarring herself back to reality. "Oh shit, I'm sorry," she said, taking a step back to look up at him as he turned to see who'd smacked him with their basket. "Um, my bad," she added softly, because now that she had noticed the tall blond hunk, it was hard to stop noticing him.

He had a strong jawline and nose, full lips and cloudy grey eyes, with blond hair that just brushed his light brows. His complexion was golden tanned, he was lean, well muscled and wide shouldered, and Lily felt herself blush a little, realizing she was checking him out. She couldn't help it, though. He looked good, smelled great, and his black tee fit him like a second skin across his chest and shoulders. And something about this man spoke to her inner, primal woman. Nudged that woman awake and told her to take notice.

"No harm done," he said with a deep, authoritative voice, and the redhead bit her lip.

"Um, thanks I guess," she said, then almost boiled herself to death with embarrassment, face cherry red she was certain, and moved carefully toward the carrots. She didn't see him, as she gathered a few carrots, checking her out in return, but when she turned around again, keeping her basket tucked in just in case, the hunk was gone.

Lily finished her shopping, bagged up her groceries in her canvas totes she had stashed in her purse, and carried the two bags out, pausing just before the doors to swing one up onto her shoulder. But when she went to go hang the not too heavy bag on her shoulder, it smacked into something hard.

The redhead turned instinctively and blushed horribly. Because it was the blond hunk again, obviously just assaulted by her yet again. "Oh my fucking God," she whispered. "I am really sorry," she added in a normal tone.

"That was heavier than a mostly empty basket," he said, lifting his brows. "Are you trying to do that on purpose?"

"No!" Lily said, eyes going wide. "Of course not! I'm just preoccupied. And you just happen to keep being in my way."

The blond hunk grinned and Lily sucked in a deep breath. "This one can be my bad, then," he said easily and she smiled. "Although I'm almost positive the answer will be no," he added, and this time she noticed him checking her out pointedly, "do you want to get a cup of coffee?"

Lily bit her lip, hesitating, but then breathed, "I'd love to." After all, she'd planned to go get a coffee by herself anyway. What was the harm in company?

Half an hour later, she was pressed to the inside of his condominium door, his hands under her loose chambray button down, tongue in her mouth, hard cock straining through his pants and pressed temptingly into her hip.

It had started so innocently. They'd gotten coffee from the little shop in the strip mall, and he'd introduced himself as Scorpius Malfoy on the walk over. They ended up sitting outside, telling each other about themselves. Lily had relaxed under his attentive listening and sarcastic humour, even if she decided he had a slightly jaded outlook on life. And, of course, like all men, he asked how flexible she was after hearing she was a yoga teacher.

He got the standard response. "Freaky circus flexible."

And that had made him grin. "Interesting. I've never actually been to the circus, so I wouldn't know. Unless you'd like to demonstrate."

She had blushed at that, the whole undertone of their interaction hinting at the simmering attraction between them. And when he'd asked, just as casually as he'd asked what she did for a living, or if she had siblings, if she wanted to go back to his place, she'd spoken truthfully, mesmerized by him and his rugged handsomeness and the aura of calm power he exuded. And said yes.

She groaned as his hands cupped her breasts, then moaned, loud, when he tugged teasingly on her nipples. Her own hands slid over his black tee, smoothing down the hard expanse of his chest and stomach and he captured her mouth with his again. Lily moaned and her fingers fisted on the soft cotton when his hands dragged down, to the button on her shorts. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked raggedly as she sucked in a breath and tried to calm the inferno of arousal he was stoking within her.

"No," Lily said, and gasped, clutching him when he lifted her against himself and carried her as if she weighed nothing back through his modern, spacious condo.

"Thank God," he groaned, and Lily wrapped her legs around him as he grabbed her ass. She thought, fleetingly, as he deposited her in bed, of Harvey, but before guilt could sway her, Scorpius had whipped off his shirt and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. He looked good, _damn_ good, shirtless, and she was hot and wet and aching for fulfillment. There was something about this man, this ripped, golden, delicious man, that spoke to her libido in the most primal way. And she couldn't fight the instinctive wanting for him.

Her own fingers clumsily began undoing her shirt buttons as he stripped his belt and it dropped heavily to the floor, his pants soon following as she wrenched her shirt off. And as he climbed over her, mouth hungry and insistent on hers again, Lily melted to him, giving in to what she knew must be wrong but felt so wonderfully, deliciously right. Her fingers carded through his soft blond hair as his mouth moved to lavish her breasts, licking and kissing and suckling with purpose, unraveling her sanity.

"Yes," she whimpered as he nipped one plump, engorged nub, and he grunted. His strong, capable hands tugged her shorts and panties off in one fell swoop and her own hands gripped his shoulders as he kissed down her belly and hips. "Oh yes!" she moaned as he nipped her inner thigh. Scorpius grunted again and Lily's hazel eyes rolled back in her head as he spread her wide and licked her wet, dripping folds teasingly.

"Mmm, yeah," he groaned as she moaned and writhed and bucked beneath him, and she jolted almost entirely upright when he suckled her clit into his mouth. "Fuck, you're so good," he ground out, but the redhead barely heard him. She couldn't stop thinking about how _good_ it felt, how _long_ it had been since someone had done what he was doing, and just when she wanted to scream with the unbearably delectable pleasure, Scorpius looked up at her, cloudy eyes dark, and said, "I want you to come for me before I fuck you."

And with one last flick of his tongue over her throbbing clit, she lost it, arching and crying out what sounded embarrassingly like his name, her body tensing in ecstasy. And when she opened her eyes again, chest heaving, still half horny, Lily bit her lip. A hot gush of molten desire pooled between her legs as she watched him fitting a condom onto an impressive erection and moaned softly into his mouth as he kissed her again.

They groaned in tandem as he sheathed himself in her, then withdrew slowly and thrust back home hard, drawing a hoarse moan from her. "Yeah, darling, just like that," he grunted as she lifted her hips to meet his thrusts.

Lily was running on pure instinct, reaching around to grip his back and shoulders and ass as he stroked in and out of her, face pressed to her neck. "More," she whimpered, and loved the way he growled his arousal and moved faster. "Yes, yes, more, please," she murmured, and whimpered again as he thrust harder and pulled back, still fucking her, his blond hair falling into his eyes as he watched her.

"Louder," he demanded, and she dug her heels in, a sharp blast of arousal pushing her closer to orgasm as she moaned louder.

"Harder," she said firmly, and he obliged her, hooking his hands behind her knees, using her legs to gain more leverage. The hot, wet sounds of their coupling only fueled Lily's desire, and she didn't think to resist as he lifted her legs higher, pressing them back against her, spreading her wide open as he pounded her. "Unh, yes, Scorpius, _yes_ , _please_ ," she moaned, barely holding on, because he was hitting just the right spot.

"Fuck yeah," he moaned, and his thrusts became wild and unrestrained. His mouth closed over her nipple, suckling hard, and Lily grabbed his shoulders and upper back, clinging for dear life as the best orgasm of her life ripped through her, razing her with its intensity, wrenching a scream of utmost pleasure and gratification from her.

She swallowed thickly, panting hard, and opened her eyes. Scorpius was lying beside her, his own breathing uneven. And all at once, her sanity and conscience, which had gone on a leave of absence, returned vengefully. Guilt choked her, making her stomach roil unpleasantly, and it intensified, because she couldn't stop thinking about how it had never, _ever_ , been that good with Harvey. Her face went red and she sat up, turning away from the tanned, naked hunk to her right and swinging her legs out of bed. "I have to go," she mumbled, anxiety peaking. She swallowed past the urge to vomit. _Oh God, what the fuck did I just do_!?

Scorpius sat up, even as she looked around for her clothes, sliding her arms into her shirt again. "Okay," he said easily, and it only made Lily feel worse.

She spotted her shorts and panties and hurriedly got up and put them on, then finished buttoning her shirt. Scorpius got up and put his pants back on. To her mingled horror and delight, he walked her to the door. And after she'd picked up her grocery bags, trying to recall if she bought anything that would be undoubtedly bad by now, he curved a hand around the back of her neck, tangling his fingers in her hair, and kissed her. It was hot and soft, lots of tongue, and despite the guilt that still tinged her face red and made her feel dangerously close to throwing up, she melted a tiny bit. He was a _really_ good kisser.

"See you around," he said, his full mouth quirking ever so slightly on one side after he pulled back, and released her. Lily slipped out the door and almost ran down the hallway. _Oh God, stupid, stupid, stupid_! _What the hell am I doing_? By the time she got to her car, she was barely holding back tears. She felt cheap and awful and thoroughly broken up. She'd just cheated on the man she'd dated for five years, the very good man she'd dated for five years and was content with and would probably wind up marrying. And she'd cheated on Harvey with a virtual stranger. A tall, handsome, sexy, _fantastic_ lover of a man who was a total stranger. _God what is wrong with me_!? _Why do I want to do it again still_!?

XXX


	2. Chapter 2

XXX

By the time she got to her apartment and inside, Lily was near hysterical. She put groceries away on autopilot. She'd been gone an hour, but when Harvey came out of the bedroom, half smiling, phone in hand, he seemed unperturbed. "Hey babe, did you get something for dinner?" Lily blinked, staring at him, and then he looked up and frowned. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked, coming over to her, and made to fold her into a hug. She stiffened.

"Um, I think we should talk," she said raggedly, trying to hold it together.

Harvey made a noise in the back of his throat. "Is now the best time, babe? I'm waiting on an overseas conference call."

The redhead bit her lip, trying to breathe and relax. She felt her hands shaking. "Harvey, seriously."

"Lily you're white as a sheet. Sit down. What the hell happened to you?" he said, real concern etching his brow now, and colouring his tone.

She sat. "This is going to sound crazy," she whispered, unable to meet his eyes. All of a sudden his phone rang, and he glanced down at it. She felt shock pushing through the heavy guilt and heady hysteria.

"Babe, this is my call," he said, looking torn.

The redhead gulped, two fresh tears leaking from her eyes. "Take it," she said hoarsely, and he smiled in relief. She wondered if he was going to take it even if she'd told him not to.

"Thanks," he said gratefully, and kissed her cheek, then picked up and moved into the bedroom. Lily put her hands over her face, closing her eyes. Emotions tumbled over each other, fighting for dominance. Guilt, indignation, shame, sadness, guilt, shock, arousal, guilt. _Why would Harvey just take a phone call when I'm literally freaking out_? _Am I really upset about that_? _I just cheated on him_! _And it was amazing, and I kind of want to do it again. God, what is fucking_ wrong _with me_!?

She took a several deep breaths and wiped her face, sure she looked awful, and set to work putting the groceries away at last. Twenty minutes later, Harvey came back. "Sorry, babe," he murmured, coming up behind her as she mechanically washed carrots in the sink. He kissed her shoulder and she stiffened, feeling distinctly put off by the gesture. "What did you want to talk about?"

Lily chewed her lower lip. "You should probably sit down," she breathed, and let out a sigh of mingled relief and dread as he moved away to sit at the little breakfast bar. She turned the water off and looked over at him. Harvey had always been so dependable, so gentle and easy going and utterly appropriate. She frowned as he pulled out his phone and glanced at it.

"What's up?" he asked. Lily felt distinctly nettled by his tone, as if she was freaking out over nothing, even though he had no idea what she was freaking out over.

"Um, something...kind of bad happened today," she said, guilt making her feel nauseous again. She bit her lip, unable to meet Harvey's blue eyes, although she could feel him looking at her.

"I guessed as much. Spit it out, babe."

Lily's brows drew together. "So, I kind of, sort of…" She peeked up at him, and saw him staring expectantly back, and Lily chickened out. "I, um, kind of assaulted someone with the groceries and then we went for coffee."

Harvey frowned. "You actually assaulted someone?"

Lily mushed her lips together for a moment. "Not on purpose, just when I was putting the bag on my shoulder," she said. "He was actually pretty nice about it." Harvey laughed and Lily felt her brows shoot up.

"Let me guess, you weren't paying attention to where you were going?" he drawled, and chuckled some more. "You're kind of a total klutz, Lily."

"I guess," she said, wringing her hands. "Um…"

Harvey smirked at her. "Did you at least buy the poor bastard a coffee?" he asked. _I did a whole lot more than that_.

"I offered. He declined. But we had coffee together." Scorpius had insisted he pay for his own. Lily took a deep breath, braced herself, and said in a very quiet voice, "And then, um, I sort of went back to his place."

Harvey stared at her. "I don't understand."

Lily licked her lips then bit the lower one, peeking up, feeling painfully sick with guilt. "I slept with him," she whispered, guilt spiking the nausea in her stomach up into the back of her throat. She braced for his reaction.

Harvey still just stared at her and then one side of his mouth tilted up. "You're joking, right?" Lily shook her head, dropping her eyes miserably again. "Come on, seriously?" Harvey said, now sounding very far from amused.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking up at him. "I didn't mean to, I don't know what I was thinking. I _wasn't_ thinking." She felt a few tears stinging the backs of her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Harvey, I never meant to…" Lily couldn't finish, feeling as though her cheeks would ignite from the shame, and clenched her jaw, ignoring the taste of bile at the top of her throat.

Harvey stared at her and shook his head, then laughed. Lily felt as though she'd been slapped and scowled when Harvey kept laughing, the sound growing louder. "You know what, Lily?" he gasped after several long moments where she ranged from guilt to anger to sadness and back. "That's almost funny."

She stared at him. "What the fuck are you talking about?" she demanded. She didn't find one single thing funny about it.

Harvey grinned, shaking his head. "I wasn't going to tell you. But now… Hell, why the fuck not?"

The redhead was still confused. "What the fuck are you going on about?" she demanded. "What is so funny about me telling you I just cheated on you with some random guy!?" _Who was way better than you in bed_.

"I've been sleeping with Kelly since the end of March." Lily stared, mouth half hanging open, feeling like she'd been punched.

Her emotions couldn't even keep pace with her turbulent thoughts. "Wha-…? What?"

"The waitress, at the diner. She came onto me, and I've been seeing her since the end of March." Lily stared, mouth working, no words forming. "I mean, it's not going anywhere with her," he said, smirking a tad, "but let's be honest, Lily, we were over before Christmas." The redhead's mouth fell open a little more.

 _Before Christmas_!? "What?"

"Look, I'm not even upset you found someone. Really, best of luck." He smiled. "You always were the best, Lily. I didn't want to hurt you, but now that you've realized it's over too, we can just part ways."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she whispered. Harvey moved to hug her. "Don't touch me, you slimeball! Oh God, here I was feeling guilty and like the worst human being in the world and you've been fucking that little girl since _March_!?"

Harvey scowled. "She's not a little girl, Lily. She's almost twenty."

Lily laughed, hysteria making it sound crazy. "Oh my God, wow. Wow. Fucking wow. Get out of my apartment."

"Look, you're not innocent either," he said rudely. Lily snorted.

"Because you didn't have the balls to break up with me, you fucking prick!"

Blue eyes narrowed. "I wonder why. Either way, it was fun while it lasted, I guess. I'll be back for my stuff when you've had a few days to cool off."

Lily barely refrained from punching Harvey and slammed the door behind him. Five minutes later, she was on the phone to her cousin Rose and best friend Daphne.

"I need wine and sympathy," she told them both. "Come to my place." They both arrived within a half hour, laden with wine and food.

Once she had the two women in the world she was closest to present, Lily dropped the bombs. "I cheated on Harvey. And then he told me he was fucking some waitress at the diner for the last couple months on the side anyway. And then we broke up."

Both women stared and Lily chugged half a glass of wine. "Um, what?" Rose finally said. "I thought you and Harvey were like half-engaged!"

"You cheated on him? With who? When?" Daphne asked.

Lily reached for the ice cream Rose had brought and went to her kitchenette for a spoon. "Does it matter?" Lily sighed. "God, I ran out of the guy's condo like it was on fire afterward. Even if I'd gotten his number, like he'd be interested. And today."

Rose frowned. "I still can't get over you and Harvey breaking up," she said. "Jesus Christ, Lily. Tell me everything."

The redhead opened up the nachos Daphne had brought and crammed a loaded one into her mouth. "I dunno," she said. She felt numb still. "I mean, things between us have been off for awhile. Like, a long while I guess, according to Harvey anyway. I thought we were just in a rut, maybe." She shook her head. "God, and I wasted like the best five years of my twenties on that prick!" She spooned some ice cream in, then finished her glass of wine. Daphne topped her up. "And the bitch he was screwing around with is fucking nineteen!"

Rose and Daphne's eyes bulged. "What?" Rose choked.

"I know!" Lily exclaimed, sinking back into her couch.

"He's a fucking retard," Daphne said firmly. "You're hot, hotter than any nineteen year old." Lily snorted.

"She's going to law school at Princeton," the redhead said nastily. "God, like the world needs another fucking bottom feeder lawyer." It suddenly dawned on Lily why Harvey had been gone so long getting lunch. _He probably fucked her and then picked up my goddamn pancakes_! "Fuck I should have gotten that guy's number!"

"So, you know where he lives, right?" said Daphne.

Lily shot her best friend a 'yeah right' look. "Come on, Lily, you know he'd just be the rebound," Rose said wisely.

The redhead frowned and shook her head. "I know it's stupid, but fuck! At least it would be a good rebound."

Daphne smirked a little. "So find out who he is and accidentally bump into him." The redhead sighed, unable to fully squash the tiny smile at the phrase 'bump into him'.

"Maybe."

Rose took Lily's ice cream spoon and helped herself. "So who is the guy? Is he hot?"

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Yeah he's hot. I don't just fall into bed with guys normally, do I?"

"Not since college," Daphne agreed. "Give us the details."

Lily grinned a tiny bit, pushing aside thoughts of Harvey and the emotional turmoil thinking about him and their spats of unfaithfulness brought. Well, her spat, his long subterfuge. Instead she pictured Scorpius fucking Malfoy in her mind. Naked, hard, and delicious. _God, why didn't I at least get his number_!? "Tall, blond, ripped, really good looking," she blushed a bit, "and a total hunk."

Rose frowned a tiny bit. "So not fair," she mumbled. Rose was perpetually single, and forever going on first dates that rarely lead to more. Lily thought her too picky, personally.

"Good in bed?" Daphne asked clinically. Rose pursed her mouth.

"Hell yeah," Lily admitted. _More like fucking spectacular_.

"How did you meet this guy anyway?" Rose asked. Lily told them the story and they both smirked, because Lily was a klutz when she tried to do anything while in motion, and it was pretty cute. "So did you get a name, if not a number?" her cousin asked.

Lily smiled. "I did."

"So who is he?" Daphne demanded.

"Scorpius Malfoy," Lily said, and both women stared at her as if she'd sprouted an extra head or two. "What?"

Rose recovered first. "Lily, think back to school. I know you were two years behind me and Albus, but who was your brother's best friend in high school in our senior year?" Lily frowned.

"How the hell should I-?"

" _Scorpius Malfoy_ ," Rose said. Lily's mouth dropped open.

"But that was high school," she said slowly, hoping they weren't still friends. Daphne was still staring, eyes glazed, mouth parted. "Daph," Lily said. "Daphne, you're freaking me out, what's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Her best friend swallowed, blinked, and looked at her. "So, you remember the time, when we were like seventeen, the summer before twelfth grade, and you came up to my parents' lake house with me, for my stupid family reunion thing?" The redhead nodded. "And you remember I was going to show you my really hot cousin, who didn't end up coming because he was away in the army and couldn't get leave time or whatever?" Lily did remember. She'd been bummed.

"Yeah. So?"

Daphne grimaced. " _Scorpius Malfoy_ ," she said grimly. Lily felt her heartbeat in her ears and tried to breathe properly.

"I had sex with your cousin, who was once, and might still be, besties with my brother?" she asked. Her best friend and cousin nodded in tandem. Lily licked her lips. "Fuck." She emptied her wine glass.

XXX


	3. Chapter 3

XXX

"You're late, prick," Albus Potter said, grinning as Scorpius sat down across from him at the table. The blond smirked back.

"You're early, douche," the blond man shot back. "Besides, I have the best fucking excuse, and you're going to want to cry with jealousy."

Albus sat forward. "That so?"

The blond grinned. _Fuck yeah._ "Yep. Did you order?"

Albus rolled his bright green eyes. "Course. Tell me why I'm going to be crying with jealousy and why you're late."

"For the record, not late. I just spent a half hour having coffee and chatting with the sexiest woman I've ever met." Albus lifted his brows.

"Serious?"

"Hundred percent. Fucking twelve, man." Albus grinned and Scorpius looked smug. "And then she came back to my place for some afternoon delight." Dark brows lifted higher.

"You're fucking with me," he said as beers arrived. Scorpius chuckled.

"Never. Serious, she was a fucking wildcat, too."

"So then what?" Albus demanded. "She still there?" The blond snorted, sipping his drink. _No, she pretty much ran away directly after the sex_.

"No. She went home."

Albus sighed. "You fucking twat, that's such fucking bull. How the fuck do you just stumble across the sexiest woman you've ever seen and she just happens to want to sleep with you?"

Scorpius grinned. "Good looks and superior physique," he retorted.

Albus snorted. "And a horseshoe up your ass." He was as perpetually dateless as his cousin Rose, although he had a lot of mini relationships. They usually didn't last past a weekend, maybe four days if she was good enough in bed. "So you gonna see her again?"

The blond shrugged, drinking some beer. "Maybe." _I hope so_. He'd foolishly not even gotten her number. Not that he was about to admit that to Albus.

"Who is she?"

"I doubt you know her," he said. Albus rolled his eyes. "Didn't catch her last name, but she said her name was Lily." Albus frowned a tiny bit.

"That's it, after a whole half hour?" he drawled.

Scorpius flipped him off and Albus laughed, drinking his beer. "What else d'you want to know?"

"What's she look like? How old? Does she have hot single friends?"

"She said late twenties." Scorpius wondered if she'd been lying, though he doubted most women would lie to make themselves older. "Either way, she's got a slammin' fucking body. All long and lean, legs that go on for fucking ever, man. She's a yoga teacher, and Jesus Christ is she flexible." He thought briefly of how she'd looked arched into his mouth, then with her legs bent up and spread open for him. _Fuck, why didn't I get her number_? Albus frowned some more.

"What's she look like?" he asked again.

Scorpius didn't see his friend's questioning eyes or expression. He was seeing Lily in his mind's eye. "Redhead. Lots of long hair, kind of crazy. Hazel eyes. Tall for a woman, at least five eight. Great tits, and an even better ass. A fucking _great_ arse, really." He didn't see Albus's fist, but he felt it collide with his cheekbone. He was knocked out of his chair and barely avoided face planting on the patio. Several people nearby looked around in shock. "Are you fucking daft?" Scorpius growled, getting up and sitting back in his seat.

"Are you?" Albus demanded, standing, chest heaving.

"What the fuck's your problem?" Scorpius hissed.

"You just fucked my sister, genius," the green eyed man snarled furiously, sitting back down with effort as onlookers watched on eagerly.

Scorpius almost laughed. He hadn't seen Albus's sister, who incidentally he recalled was a redhead named Lily, since she'd been like fourteen. She'd been all skinny, gangly, underdeveloped girl and he had barely even taken notice of her. "Yeah right. Weren't you listening, you fucker? I said she was the sexiest woman I've ever fucking met." He rubbed his aching face. "Ow, that hurt, by the way."

"Tall, red hair that's a fucking beast, hazel eyes, yoga teacher, twenty eight? That's my fucking sister, you ass clown!"

Scorpius scoffed. "Yeah right. Last I saw of your sister she was-"

"That was more than a decade ago!"

The blond shook his head. "No, there's no way it was-" Albus slid his phone over and Scorpius looked down at a picture of his friend and, indeed, the sexy redhead he'd fucked senseless that afternoon was beside him, smiling and making bunny ears behind his head. "Fuck me," he muttered.

"Yeah, fuck you is right," Albus growled.

"Look, Al, obviously I had no idea, man or I wouldn't have-"

Albus held up a hand to halt the grey eyed blond man right there, as he firmly shook his head. "Fine, whatever. But you're never going to see her again and I'm never going to hear you describe...those kinds of things in regards to my sister _ever_ again. Got it you motherfucker?"

Scorpius's mouth tightened. "Got it," he snapped, cursing his damnable luck. _Figures_. _You find a hot, sexy, total babe of a woman who's a fucking goddess in the bedroom and she's the one woman who's off limits. Fuck! Why does she have to be Al's damned sister!?_

"Hang on a sec," Albus said, then his eyes widened. "Lily's not single."

Scorpius felt his own brows lift, and raised his hands in an innocent gesture. "Swear to God, I didn't know. She never mentioned a boyfriend."

Albus frowned and their food came out. Scorpius put a french fry in his mouth, trying to ignore the decidedly awkward silence as he chewed mechanically.

After the meal, which was more subdued than normal when he and Scorpius got together after the stunning revelation that his friend, one of the oldest and closest he had, had slept with his sister, Albus called her. His apparently single sister answered on the third ring.

"'Lo?"

"Lily?"

"Uh oh," Lily said, then giggled and said to someone in the background on her end, "It's Albus." Then to him, "What's up, bro?"

The dark haired man found himself frowning even more. "Are you drunk?"

"Uh huh," Lily replied, and snorted a laugh as Rose, who was equally drunk and was going through her photo album cutting Harvey out, mimed shooting herself.

"Lily, it's like five thirty," he said disapprovingly.

The redhead squinted at her clock. "Yes. Almost. Why're you calling? I'm busy."

"Doing what, other than getting plastered in the afternoon?" her brother demanded. Hazel eyes rolled dramatically and Rose laughed.

"Is this his or yours?" Daphne asked, pulling a light blue and white striped button down shirt out of Lily's closet.

"His, I think. But I like it, so it's mine now," she said. "I'm de-Harvey-fying my life and apartment," she said. "We broke up today."

There was a pause, but instead of the normal big brother response of 'I'm going to beat him up' or 'he's such a douche, you deserve better', Albus snorted. Lily's brows went up. "Is that because you slept with Scorpius?" he asked.

Lily felt her face go red. "How do you know-?"

"Jesus Christ, Lily, obviously he told me." The redhead sat back, feeling like she'd been played. "He didn't know you were my sister," he said grudgingly after a moment.

"Oh," Lily said, and tried to fight the smile and surge of happiness that admission brought. He hadn't simply played her, but had obviously felt the same pull of attraction she had. "Well anyway, it's not because I slept with Scorpius. Well, I mean I guess kind of, but after I told him, Harvey was like 'yeah, I've been fucking some nineteen year old bimbo for two months', and I kind of lost it. Then we broke up." She drank some wine. "Hence being plastered in the afternoon, dear brother."

There was silence and the redhead guessed that Albus didn't know what to say. "Well shit," he mumbled at last.

Lily laughed. "Uh huh, it's definitely some shit. Oh hey, I just thought of something!" she said, hazel eyes widening. "You have his number, right?"

Albus laughed and she frowned. "Who, Scorpius? Yeah, I have his number. And I'm going to make sure you never get it, because there is no way that is allowed to happen."

The redhead pouted, and said, "His," to Daphne without thinking as a faded black undershirt was held before her. "Come on, Al," the redhead said, tone wheedling. "I'm going through an emotionally upheaving time. I need to find solace after this devastating personal blow."

"That's why they make wine and ice cream," he said. "Besides, he's already been warned to stay away."

Lily frowned. "You're a terrible brother. This is why I love James more." She hung up on him. "What a douche," she muttered.

"It's probably for the best," Rose said, drinking some more wine. "Besides, that would be awkward central, you and Malfoy. He's your brother's _friend_ for Christ's sake!"

"I think they'd get on," Daphne said, even as Lily unconsciously pouted at Rose's unsolicited opinion. "Mind you, I haven't seen or talked to Scorpius in like five years, so who knows now. He was still military when we last spoke."

Rose gestured as if to say 'I told you so'. "Still," Lily sighed, thinking about those thundery grey eyes and that deep, erotic voice telling her he wanted her to come before he fucked her. She fought a shiver. _It's for the best_. Lily didn't quite believe it, but blamed it on the wine.

The next morning she got up very late after spending a good hour crying after her friend and cousin had left the night before, got Advil and water, and went for a long run, pushing herself hard as punishment for getting so drunk last night. She stopped at the diner to get a smoothie to go before heading home, but hesitated just outside the door. _What if that little blonde hussy is there?_ _Wait, what if_ Harvey _is in there?_

The redhead pushed in through the door anyway. _Fuck them. I want a smoothie_. She went up to the counter and ordered it, tipping her change to the middle aged guy who'd worked there for longer than Lily had been alive and owned the place now. "Kelly, you're late," he barked, jamming two bananas into a blender. Lily looked over at a tiny blonde who came out of the door marked Employees Only, tying her little apron thing on and pulling a pen from her messy blonde bun.

"Sorry, Ted, I overslept," she said, smiling charmingly, offering the man a pouty smirk, and Lily tried not to glare. _Probably with Harvey_.

Ted frowned and Lily couldn't help but frown too. After she got her smoothie, Lily stayed awhile to watch Kelly, but she seemed relatively nice, and the redhead departed. She wouldn't cause a scene. That was just cold, what if the poor girl lost her job? But the redhead was determined, should she ever have her as a waitress, she wouldn't tip her, because she refused to give up visiting her favourite diner for the stupid slut's sake.

Lily headed out of the diner, walking around the corner and down two buildings to her apartment, and glanced at a shiny, all-black car, a new model Lexus, parked in front of her building. It was a _nice_ car, and while she didn't live in the worst neighbourhood, it still stuck out like a sore thumb. As she drew level with it, the driver's side window went down. "You're a hard person to track down. And coming from me, that's saying something."

The redhead felt herself blush a little, because she was only in her sports bra and micro running shorts, and Scorpius Malfoy, with his dark aviators and black tee, looked good. Too good. "It comes with the territory. My dad was a cop, my brother's a cop, and Albus is all over the TV for all the provocative cases." Her father still hadn't forgiven his middle child, and clone, for becoming a defense attorney, despite the disgusting amount of money he made doing it and Albus's notorious success. "I try to fly below the radar," she said lightly, moving over to talk to him properly.

"Are you going to invite me upstairs?" he rumbled and Lily sucked in a breath, moving to lean on his open window, unintentionally pressing her breasts up and together in her sports bra, cleavage on display.

"That's probably not a good idea."

A blond eyebrow lifted. "Because of the boyfriend?" HIs dark grey gaze darted down to appreciate the sight of her luscious curves on display.

Lily blushed more. "No. The boyfriend and I split. Turns out he beat me to cheating, by a lot, and he was waiting to end it. He wasn't even fazed when I told him I slept with you." She looked away, shrugging, and bit her lip. _Funny fact, we both prefer blondes, too._

"Then why is it a bad idea?" he drawled, taking his sunglasses off, eyes roving over her cleavage pointedly.

"You know why," she said, still thoroughly tempted, even as she replayed what Albus had said to her. _That is so beyond not allowed to happen_. "Al would go nuts. And your cousin is my best friend."

Scorpius grinned. "Al's a baby. And what he doesn't know can't hurt him. Ignorant bliss and whatnot."

The redhead chuckled, because he was _way_ too tempting. "Still, I'm not sure bringing you upstairs would be the best idea."

"Disappointing." She smirked because he didn't look or sound remotely perturbed by the rejection. _Then again, he's underwear model sexy. Of course he doesn't care_. "Then I suppose I'll have to settle for breakfast instead."

Lily lifted her brows at his presumption. "Really?" she drawled. "A breakfast for one?" she asked pointedly, and sipped her smoothie.

"No," he said lightly, and reached out, tilting her straw toward himself when she released it and sipping from her smoothie. "That would be if you took me upstairs, because you'd be on the menu."

She took her smoothie back out of range. "If you're trying to ask me out, you're doing a terrible job," she teased, smile and sparkling hazel eyes belying the harsh words.

"I'm not asking," he replied. "But if you insist. Would you like to come to breakfast with me?"

She glanced down at herself. "I'm not dressed. Or showered."

"And yet you still look good enough to eat."

She blushed for real. "Fine," Lily said. "But I get to pick the place."

Scorpius arched a brow. "Fair enough."

Lily grinned, unlocked his door and opened it for him. "You might want to roll your window up. I don't think it's likely to get stolen, but this is a pretty nice car."

Scorpius powered up the window, climbed out, looking and smelling delicious as he unfolded his long, perfectly toned frame from the car, closed the door and beeped it locked. "Where are we going?"

Lily waited until they got to the corner and pointed. "Here. Best blueberry pancakes in town, and the only place I enjoy eating breakfast."

They went into the diner, got a table near the back, and Lily couldn't help but notice the tall blond looking around. "The best blueberry pancakes in town, you say?" he said once they were seated.

"Yup."

"Impossible," Scorpius said, waving a hand dismissively. Lily smirked.

"Really? How so?"

The blond grinned. "Because I know where to find the best blueberry pancakes in town, and it's not here."

She laughed. "That means you know where to find the second best blueberry pancakes."

"We'll see," he said as the waitress came over and Lily looked up into Kelly's blonde smiling face.

"Hi there, I'm Kelly and I'll be your server," she said brightly and the redhead grit her teeth.

"Blueberry pancakes, syrup on the side," she said without smiling.

"Times two," Scorpius added. Kelly jotted it down on her little pad and flounced away. "Why don't you like her?" he asked once the perky blonde teen was gone.

Lily started a bit but then forced a shrug. "Y'know how I mentioned the boyfriend was cheating before me?"

"Ah," Scorpius said, sitting back.

"At least he didn't have to go far for it," she said fairly, and sat back too.

"How long?" Scorpius asked quietly. Lily frowned.

"Really? This is probably the last conversation I'd thought we'd have, but alright then. Like two months, give or take. I didn't get specific times and dates." Lily shrugged again, pulling her hair out of its bun, letting her mess of dark red hair spill over her shoulders and down her back and ran a hand through it, shaking out the bigger snarls. "Either way, it doesn't really matter."

"Sure it does," he said. "Your ex is probably the biggest douche I've ever had the good fortune of not meeting. To me, that matters bunches."

Lily smiled a bit at that. "Yup, definitely a douche. Lucky you, eh?" She shook her head, trying not to sigh. "Still, though. Five years, poof!" She drank some smoothie and fiddled with a packet of sweetener for coffee.

Scorpius reached for her smoothie again and sipped. "Five years?" he asked, brow arched. "Ouch, that's shitty."

Lily snatched her cup back, glaring a little. "Yeah well, nowhere to go but forward." _And at least he's not a co-owner on the studio_. When the redhead had purchased her yoga studio space, she'd been adamant it be in her name only, as it was _her_ business and she'd saved every last penny for the down payment and paid all the monthly bills herself anyway. "So since we're on the subject of shitty exes, let's hear your worst."

He grinned. "My girlfriend in the sixth grade broke up with me for the kid with braces."

Lily burst out laughing. "Wow, really? Was that during your awkward phase?"

Scorpius smirked. "No. He got her a better present for her birthday. She dumped me at the party and everything. We hadn't even gotten to kissing yet."

"That bitch," Lily teased. Scorpius smirked.

"She came crawling back." A red brow arched. "Unfortunately for her, I'd gotten with her best friend by that point, and we'd definitely got to the kissing part."

The redhead put a foot up on her seat, resting her head on her knee and sipped her smoothie again as dark grey eyes darted down the back up to her gaze. "And that's really the worst ex you have?" she asked.

"Really," he said. _Figures_.

"Lucky you."

Scorpius smirked wider, but it seemed distinctly fake. "Not really. I was heartbroken for three whole days after that."

She flipped him off and rolled her eyes as Kelly came back with food. "Did you need any-?"

"We're good," Lily said abruptly. The blonde shot her a nasty look and sauntered off, but the redhead barely noticed, because her eyes were glued to Scorpius, and the way his eyes stayed on his food, not once flicking over the waitress's backside as it moved away. Lily drenched her pancakes and picked up her fork. "Get ready for the best pancakes in town," she said, looking up from her own breakfast and then frowned at him. "What in God's name are you doing?"

Scorpius rolled grey eyes at her. "Cutting my pancakes," he replied, cutting them neatly, the three flapjacks bursting with fresh berries stacked directly atop one another.

She stared. "You don't even have syrup on them."

Scorpius shot her the 'obviously' look. "You put syrup on after you cut them so they don't get soggy and fall off the fork."

Lily snorted, cutting a big bite of syrup soaked cake with her fork. "You're fucking weird," she mumbled. _Hot, but definitely weird._

"Says the savage using a fork to cut hers," he shot back, pouring his syrup over his cut up pancakes. He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. "Pretty good," he said after swallowing.

"Told you," Lily said, mouth half full.

"Not the best in town," he added, eating some more, "but pretty good."

Lily glared and swallowed her bite. "Then where are the best ones served?" she demanded. She wanted to try for herself to see if he was full of it.

"If you're trying to ask me out on a date you're not going about it very well," he drawled.

She laughed at him, then smacked his hand when he reached for her smoothie. "Stop that, get your own," she said.

"I just want a sip," he said. She rolled her eyes.

"You've had like three sips. Get your own," she repeated, scooting the cup closer.

By the time they finished their pancakes, Scorpius having successfully snitched two more sips of smoothie, Lily was thoroughly in like with this very sexy, decidedly amusing blond man. Kelly came back with the check, still attempting polite perkiness and the redhead felt a little bad for being snappy. Scorpius reached for it, but Lily beat him to it. "My treat," she said. "Since you're obviously delusional and can't recognize the taste of the best pancakes in town, I'll buy."

Then she realized she had no purse, no debit or credit cards, and the three dollars she'd taken jammed in her sports bra had paid for her smoothie. "No," he said easily and her brows pulled together sharply. "When we go for the best blueberry pancakes in town, the _real_ best pancakes in town I might add, you can buy," he said, and took the check with a grin.

"Oh yeah?" she drawled. "And when will that be?"

Scorpius grinned, putting a couple bills down on the table as they got up, and stole one last sip of her smoothie. "What are you doing for lunch?" He jerked his chin at the smoothie. "That's fucking good. What is it?"

She grinned back. "Two bananas, three real strawberries, a splash of fake strawberry syrup, and milk. Ted's specialty," she said waving to the owner as they headed out.

"So you mentioned earlier your best friend is my cousin, and it's been bothering me, because I only have one female cousin, and there is no way you're best friends with my male cousins."

Lily giggled. "Okay," she said. "Says who? How do you know I'm not bosom buddies with a man?"

Scorpius snorted. "He'd have to be gay, which my cousins are not, because there isn't a straight man who could or would tolerate being just friends with you."

"So why is it bothering you?"

Scorpius frowned ever so slightly, the barest quirk down at the corners of his mouth. "Because Daphne is a slut."

Lily's mouth dropped open and she pushed the tall blond hunk as hard as possible. Which did absolutely nothing except make her more offended. "Rude!" she snapped. "Wow, you do know that's my best friend you're talking about, right?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Are you disagreeing with my statement?" he drawled. Lily glared, hazel eyes narrowing, mouth thinning. Because it was a teeny, tiny bit true that Daphne was, on occasion, a little bit of a slut. "Though I'll give her the benefit of five or six years to have grown up in," he added fairly.

"Daphne is _not_ a slut," she said loyally. "She might be a bit more loose and open about her sexuality than most, but that doesn't make her a _slut_. She's never cheated on any of her exes." Lily winced a little at that, because it made her, personally, sound pretty slutty. But it was true. Daphne didn't cheat. She'd tell a man flat out she wanted to have sex with the barista at the coffee shop down the street, tell her man when she planned to be fucking said barista, and simply ask if he wanted to get it on when she got home.

"She visited me on leave one time. She fucked her way through half the guys from the squad on leave with me before the three days were up."

Lily had heard about that trip, because it was just after they themselves had turned twenty two, and held back her laugh. Because Daphne had said her cousin was 'still good looking, but turned into a stuffy prude'. "Those are the ones you know about," Lily replied and grinned when his brows shot up. They'd made it back to her apartment. "She fucked her way through _all_ of them, actually." He looked shocked and she giggled again. "She called it the seventy two hour mission. All her 'cat naps'? There wasn't much napping going on."

"And you're trying to convince me she's not a slut?" Scorpius finally drawled.

Lily shook her head. "She's not. She's comfortable with her sexuality." The redhead dawdled out front of her building as he leaned against his car. "Well, thanks for breakfast," she said, smiling a little, cheeks very slightly pink.

"Thank you. Even if they weren't the pancakes I was promised."

She smiled, moving a little closer. "Do you want to come upstairs?" she asked.

Scorpius's mouth hinted at a smile. "Breakfast for one?" he drawled. Her smile widened.

"Daph might be my bestie, and maybe a tiny bit of a slut, but that doesn't mean I am." _Except you already are with him_. "I'm icky, and still not dressed or showered. And you promised me a lunch of the supposed best blueberry pancakes in town. So would you like to come upstairs to wait while I take an ungodly amount of time to get ready?"

Scorpius's dark grey eyes roved down over her frame. "I'd love to."

XXX

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE** : Thank you so much to everyone who has read or reviewed so far! It means so much that any of you are into this pairing with a Muggle-AU twist, and I hope you all stick around for what's coming next! :D Much love, and see you next time!


	4. Chapter 4

XXX

Scorpius glanced around with interested after Lily unlocked her front door and preceded him in. It was a decent little two bedroom place, the second floor walk up in what he assumed used to be a Victorian. "It's not much, but feel free to poke around," she said, then frowned at the mess of photographs and what looked like hacked up bits of paper on the coffee table. "Um, but maybe not so much through these," she said, waving vaguely at the photo album. "I just have to shower and get dressed, I'll be out in a minute."

He watched her disappear behind a not quite closed door with wobbly frosted glass he supposed lead to her bathroom. There was the sound of a shower starting and although Scorpius wanted nothing more than to peek at her long, perfect body getting all hot and wet and soapy, he refrained. _That's what perverts and serial killers do_. Instead he moved over to the coffee table and photo albums, noticing it appeared to be pictures that had been hacked up.

He smirked a little when he picked up the heavy album, and started to leaf through it. Judging by both Lily and his cousin Daphne's fresh faces and nubile figures, Scorpius assumed the cover photo of them had been taken at some point in high school. As he flipped it was confirmed, because there were pictures of them in groups, then wearing formal dresses for prom, then several pages that looked as though they'd been taken at a nonstop party. He assumed that had been college. She looked damn good in all of the pictures too, he noticed. Even when her expression wasn't always the most favourable for photo taking. And especially the ones on beaches with minimal amounts of clothing.

He kept flipping, smirking at the occasional shot of James or Albus, and then got toward the end. He noticed several pictures missing from their places and even more where a face had been, sometimes poorly, cut out. He assumed that was the ex then.

Scorpius tried to picture the little blonde her ex had been fucking around with, but she hadn't stuck in his mind. Cute, perky, young, blonde. That was it. She was certainly no Lily, of that he could make no mistake. She was memorable in every way and the blond found himself wondering how in the hell a guy spent five years with her to turn around and fuck some ditzy waitress. _You don't know the backstory. She could be crazy_. He frowned a bit at that, because she probably would be crazy. She was Al's sister. The blond tried to remember her, but she'd been, the few occasions he recalled seeing her after he and Albus became friends, rather quiet and he'd simply not bothered to pay attention to her.

The water shut off as he kept flipping, almost at the end of the album. There was a shot of Lily, his cousin, and another woman, a little shorter, a little plumper, and all womanly curves spilling up and out and over her dress. The face seemed familiar, and the mass of auburn curls.

"Typical man. I tell you not to look at something and what's the first thing you look at?" Lily drawled and Scorpius glanced up from the album. His witty reply caught in his throat and he felt almost lightheaded as all the blood in his body seemed to pool in his groin and the hardest, fastest erection he'd ever had sprang to attention in his dark denims.

Lily was leaning against the bathroom door frame, wearing only a teeny tiny towel around her middle, another wrapped up turban style on her head. And she was still damp and rubbing moisturizer into her arms. As he watched, she turned, grabbing more, and then lifted a leg onto the vanity and applied her lotion. His throat felt tight when he swallowed thickly. _Don't say something pervy, don't say something pervy…_

"I couldn't resist," he rumbled. He sat back, trying to ignore the urge to get up, rip that silly little towel off, carry her to the nearest horizontal surface, and fuck her until she screamed his name. "Who's that?" he asked, pointing to the photo of her, Daphne and the curvy friend. "She looks familiar."

Lily moved toward him, smelling delicious, and glanced down, then smiled. "That's my cousin Rose. Rose Weasley."

Scorpius recalled, vividly now, Rose Weasley as she'd been in high school. They'd hung out in the same circles, and she'd been curvy even then. "I think she gave me a blowjob in a closet once," he said conversationally and Lily burst out laughing.

"Ew," she said, moving back to the bathroom, applying more moisturizer. "Please tell me it was before that photo was taken."

"It was senior year," he replied. He'd been shitfaced at some house party and definitely recalled a curvy classmate sucking him off in a closet while he held onto a mass of curls. Scorpius couldn't quite recall if was Rose Weasley or not. "Then again, it might not have been her at all."

"Let's hope not," Lily said, moving from the bathroom into another room. "You're awfully patient," she said five minutes later when she came out in frayed, ratty denim cutoffs and a little black tank top that made it as startlingly apparent now as it had been the last time he'd seen her, that she was definitely not wearing a bra. She passed by him and he got a blast of coconut and vanilla scented air in her wake and watched, still hard as a rock, as she slipped on an oversized army green cotton button down with no sleeves that had been tossed over the back of her armchair.

"Lots of practice," he murmured.

"Yeah?" she drawled shaking out her long dark red mane, throwing the towel vaguely toward the bathroom. She twisted it up atop her head then leaned down to dig something out of a massive tote bag by the kitchen counter. "With waiting on women to get dressed or being patient in general?" she teased, securing her very messy bun with two long chopsticks.

"Both," he replied. She put her hands on her hips. "Ready?" he asked, drinking in the sight of her.

"You bet." He arched a brow. "What?" she demanded, taking a smaller handbag from inside the tote and swinging it over one shoulder.

"Your hair looks better down," he rumbled, getting up and withdrawing the chopsticks from her hair. It tumbled down, all damp and coconut scented and making his fingers itch to tangle themselves in it.

She frowned and he noticed a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. "It's easier to brush if I put it up," she retorted, reaching for the chopsticks, lifting them from his grasp.

"But then how am I supposed to do this?" he asked, and unable to resist any longer, he buried both hands in her hair and pulled her close, kissing her. She groaned, mouth moving in tandem with his and he felt her softness melt against him.

"Fair enough," she breathed when he finally pulled back, which he only did so as to avoid the one thing he'd been told by her older brother _not_ to do. Which happened to be the only thing he wanted to do. "But if I break another hairbrush, you're buying me a replacement," she added, smiling a little, then pulled back completely.

"Another?" he drawled, smirking a tiny bit. Somehow it wasn't at all surprising. _Her hair probably eats brushes for lunch_.

"There's been two casualties this year alone," she said, blushing attractively. Lily readjusted her bag. "So are we going? Or are you going to admit now that your supposed best blueberry pancakes are in fact sub par and that's why you're dawdling?"

He grinned and followed her out, watching her merely lock the door knob lock, shaking his head a little. "You'll see," he said easily. They got into his, thankfully not stolen, graffitied, or otherwise damaged, Lexus and he pulled easily into light traffic on her street.

It wasn't a far drive to his favourite all day breakfast place, and home of _the_ best blueberry pancakes in the city. He saw Lily casting the little place dubious looks as he parked and they got out. "This looks like a dive," she murmured, clearly loyal to her diner around the corner.

He couldn't resist the temptation to slip his arm around her waist and pull her against his side as they went in. "It is. But you're about to get blown away." She rolled her eyes as they grabbed a tiny table with a horribly scratched formica top in the corner. An older version of Kelly appeared to take their orders.

"Short stack of blueberry, and tell Karl to make them good, or I'll come back there and teach him how."

"Make it two," Lily said and Scorpius lifted his brows. "What?"

"If you order pancakes, you better eat them," he said seriously. Not that he had any qualms finishing them for her, but judging by her figure, he doubted she'd have room for three more pancakes.

"Please," she said, tossing her mane. "Have you seen Albus eat?" She put her foot up on the chair again, leaning on her knee. "It's genetic."

Scorpius chuckled. "Now you're just being a showoff with your freaky circus skills," he said, unable to stop remembering seeing both knees bent that much on her. Lily shrugged.

"It's comfortable. And this isn't even close to freaky circus stretching."

His eyes roved over her creamy flesh and he could imagine her little shorts riding up. His erection still hadn't gone down all the way. "So how is it that you look nothing like your brothers?" he asked, trying to distract himself from her. All he could picture were those mile long legs wrapped around him while he- _No, off limits_!

"Sheer dumb luck," she said and he smirked. "No, I dunno honestly. My dad says I look like his mom, but as we've only got the one picture for reference, I'm not sold yet. And anyway, isn't it a good thing I look nothing like Al and Jamie? Or is there something about you and my brother you're not telling me?"

He found himself grinning, despite the moderate amounts of horror that question invoked. "Definitely not."

Karl came out with their pancakes then, dark haired, jovial, and barrel chested as ever, smiling at Scorpius. "You mizera, scaring the staff."

The blond smirked. "Bullshit. Where's my friend, the hajzle?"

"Milos shouldn't have taught you that," the man said, bushy brows pulling together. Scorpius smirked wider.

"He also taught me how to barter a fair price with a děvka on the streets of Prague." Karl shook his head. "I've come to enlighten a citizen of this fair city who thinks you don't have the best blueberry pancakes in town. You're welcome."

"Wow, so that was blown way out of proportion," Lily said, but held out her hand. "Lily Potter. Delightful to meet you. And for the record, no offence, there's no way yours are better than the ones around the corner from me. Although I'm sure they're great."

Karl put down the plates with flourish and bent over her hand, kissing it softly with a grin. "When you are tasting, krásný, you are seeing." He made her a little bow. "Enjoy." He made to turn away, then paused and smacked Scorpius upside the head. "You don't speak of děvka and the likes around a lady friend, Scor. Milos even knows better."

"How do you know him?" Lily asked drowning her second breakfast in syrup as Karl went back to the kitchen. Scorpius rolled his eyes and stacked his to cut neatly.

"His son, Milos, was in my squad. I'm surprised he hasn't come out to embarrass me." Scorpius finished his cutting and drizzled the heap with syrup, watching as Lily forked the first mouthful in.

Her eyes went wide, then narrowed dangerously. _Uh oh. Here comes the crazy_. "These are _amazing_ ," she whispered, using her fork to cut another bite off. "Oh God, like seriously," she groaned, mouth full.

"Told you," he said smugly, digging into his own stack.

Lily sighed, sitting back in her chair. "I feel like a terrible human being," she breathed, cutting her third bite.

"Why?"

"I'm cheating on Ted's pancakes and it's _so_ worth it." He watched a huge piece disappear into her mouth and chuckled. "I'm not joking, there's some definite emotional upheaval." He snorted because she was talking with her mouth full, but damn if it wasn't a good look for her.

"So I can tell Karl you like them?"

"Is Karl married?"

Scorpius frowned. _What_? "Yes. For the last thirty five or so years as far as I'm aware."

"Damn. I was going to say, tell him let's get married. I'd take him in a heartbeat if only he'd cook for me. Seriously, if you're not finishing yours, I'm having them. Why are you laughing at me?" she demanded.

"I'm not telling Karl that."

"Scorpius, you smug sonofab- Well, hello." A beefy guy, a tad taller than Lily's height, with massive arms and an easy smile came out. He had dark hair and eyes and distinctly European features.

"Hi," the redhead said shortly, shovelling more pancakes in.

Milos shot Scorpius a look that spoke volumes about his dining companion. "No manners, Scor. Introduce me to your friend."

"Milos, Lily. Lily, Milos. Go away, now, before you ruin my appetite." The guy grinned, punching Scorpius on the arm, then turned back to Lily.

"So you like the pancakes, gorgeous?"

"No," she said. "I _love_ them."

His smile widened. "They taste even better first thing in the morning after waking up next to me," he teased.

Lily smiled, swallowing her bite. "I bet," she said, and laughed a little when Scorpius shot his friend a dark glare. "They'd probably taste like heaven if you delivered them in bed and then left me to eat them in peace."

Milos chuckled. "Ouch, gorgeous."

"He doesn't even make the pancakes," Scorpius said, working on his own plate. "Go away, Milos."

"Doesn't mean I can't," Milos shot back. "Let me know when you'd like that breakfast in bed, gorgeous. I'm always here," he added to Lily, who waved as she ate steadily, and then the dark haired European man left them to eat, giving the blond another punch.

"Was he one of the ones Daphne slept with?" Lily asked curiously between bites.

"No," Scorpius said. "Milos was Special Forces with me. Daphne slept her way through guys from my second tour."

Lily frowned a tiny bit. Scorpius wondered if she was going to ask him if he'd shot people. "How long were you in the army?" she asked. His mouth quirked.

"Nine years."

"How long have you been out?"

The blond smiled now. "You make it sound like prison."

Her cheeks turned a flattering shade of pink. "Sorry." He waved the apology away.

"Don't be. It'll be three years in August."

"Do you miss it?"

Scorpius paused, a mouthful of pancake halfway to his mouth. Only a handful of people had ever asked him that, and he'd lied to all of them. "Yes," he said, giving Lily the truth.

Her brows lifted. "Then why not go back?"

Scorpius shrugged. "My priorities changed." She tilted her head a little, chewing and then swallowed.

"That's not really an answer," she said lightly. She put her last bite away and Scorpius was impressed. "So is your friend Milos a decent guy? He's kind of cute, and if he really can make me those pancakes, I might seriously consider letting him sleep over." His brows lifted, mouth parting, but she grinned cheekily and giggled. "Your face was hilarious. Just kidding. You're cuter."

"You wouldn't like him," Scorpius replied easily, finishing his own pancakes. Lily sat forward, resting her chin on her knee.

"Yeah? Why's that?"

 _I'd punch him in the fucking face if he tried anything, and he looks like shit with a broken nose_. "He might be a bigger slut than even Daphne."

Lily laughed, stretching her leg back out as the waitress came back over and asked if they needed anything else. They declined and Scorpius got up. "Um, you have to wait for the check," she said as though questioning his mental stability.

He grinned. "There's not going to be a check. And if you ask Karl for one, he'll laugh you out of his kitchen." She stared at him for a beat. "Are you good to go?"

"That's not very nice," she said as they headed out.

"What?"

"Telling me I can buy and then taking me somewhere you know they won't make you pay. I can-"

Scorpius pulled her to him as he held the door for her and she made to pass through, and kissed her lightly, both because he couldn't resist and to shut her up. She tasted like blueberries and syrup when his tongue teased the seam of her lips. "This just happens to be the home of the best blueberry pancakes. Besides, you know they were worth it," he added as they went back outside. They moved sedately, both quite full, toward his car.

"I still feel bad for cheating on Ted's pancakes," she sighed. "Even if they were way more than worth it." Lily bit her lip as soon as the words were out and Scorpius smiled a little. Her long hair ruffled in the breeze and she swirled it with her hand to contain it.

"Sometimes it's good to shake things up a bit," he murmured. _Especially those tits, preferably all up in my face_.

The redhead made a face. "Now you sound like Harvey." His brows pulled together and she grinned. "The ex."

"Maybe he's not wrong. A fucking dumbass, but maybe not wrong there."

Lily shrugged and they got into the car, and he drove her back to her apartment. She clicked the seat belt undone and licked her lips when they pulled up. "I actually had a good time," she said, looking up at him, cheeks a little pink. He smiled back.

"Does that mean I can push my luck for dinner, too?" he asked, trying not think of her yet _again_ in the throes of ecstasy. It was difficult. With her cloud of dark red hair waving around her shoulders and those miles long legs on display, smelling like coconut and vanilla, her luscious mouth smiling, he was thinking about it. Graphically.

"Unfortunately not. I have a standing reservation at my mother's table every Sunday." Lily's gaze darted down to his mouth, and then back up to his eyes and she licked her lips again, making Scorpius painfully aware of how good that mouth would feel on any and every part of his anatomy. "But I might be inclined to meet you afterward for a drink."

Scorpius grinned. "Sure," he said. "I'll even let you buy. For real."

Lily snorted, but then leaned in closer, hazel eyes dropping to his mouth again. "If anything you should buy me a drink for being a jerk."

He found himself leaning in the slightest bit as well. "Then it's settled. I'll buy your drink, you buy mine."

She laughed softly and then her lips ghosted over his. "Deal," she breathed, and he pressed their mouths more firmly together, tangling a hand in her glorious mane again, kissing her, grunting as her tongue pushed into his mouth, one of her own hands grasping the neck of his tee, and then she broke away, pupils dilated, mouth parted, breathing shallow. "And then you can come upstairs and I'll give you dessert. Pick me up at eight."

She kissed him briefly again then slipped out of his Lexus and waved, jogging lightly up to her apartment. Scorpius sat there for a long moment, still tasting her kiss on his tongue, and felt himself grinning foolishly. _You're not sixteen, get ahold of yourself_. But even as he put the car in drive and pulled away, heading home, he couldn't wipe the smirk off his face. He was _really_ looking forward to dessert.

As he pulled into the parking space for his condo, a startling realization occurred to him. He would be picking her up at her parents' place. Her parents who knew him. Where Al might also be in attendance. Scorpius gulped, pushed a hand through his hair and took the elevator up to his condo. _Serves you right, because you_ still _didn't get her fucking number_.

XXX


	5. Chapter 5

XXX

Lily got to her parents' place just after five thirty, knowing dinner would be ready at six, and found her eldest brother James already present with his detestably sweet and utterly likeable fiancee. Lily didn't have qualms against the woman personally, but after the Harvey fiasco, which she was all but certain would come up if Al joined them, she was feeling a little more than bitter about wedding planning details.

But she smiled and played nice and breathed a sigh of relief when Albus didn't show up as dinner was served at precisely six. "So what's new with you, Lily?" her father asked.

The redhead munched her salad and shrugged. "Same ol' same. Teaching classes, running around like a madwoman when I'm not. I'm getting prepped for my meditation classes in the fall with a workshop next month, just doing my thing." She speared a bite of chicken. "Oh, and I broke up with Harvey." She took her bite as four jaws dropped, and shrugged again.

"Honey, why? When did this happen?" her mother asked. Lily barely held back the sigh. "You two were so in love!"

"Apparently not," she said, and then Lily heard the front door open. _Damn you, Albus_! "He cheated with a waitress from the diner, I slept with someone else, we split. He's a douche."

"You slept with someone else?" her brother said darkly just as her mother said, "He cheated on you!?"

Harry Potter still stared and James's fiancee looked like a deer in the headlights. Albus walked in and sat down with a casual, "Sorry I'm late." He looked at Lily. "Told them?"

"Uh huh." She ate some more salad.

"Even the Scorpius part?"

The redhead almost choked, glaring hard at her brother, her father's brows shot up, and Ginny said again, "He _cheated_ on you!?"

Lily sighed. "Yes, Mom. Harvey cheated. With a waitress from the diner around the corner from me."

"Aw, you're not even telling it right," Albus teased and she shot him another murderous look.

"You tell us then," James said.

Albus grinned and Lily glared at the both of them. "Both of you can shut up and screw off. God."

"Honey, I don't understand," Ginny said, meal entirely forgotten.

"How is Malfoy involved?" James prompted Albus. Harry looked at his second son expectantly as well.

"My God," Lily grumbled. She both loved and loathed how her family handled upsetting news. Albus finked people out or gloated over their misfortune, supplying poor advice and heckling whoever was in the hot seat, her dad and James interrogated, wanting every tiny minute detail of the story, and her mother blustered through the stages of grief like clockwork. It wasn't bad when it wasn't her in the center of it, but when she was, it sucked. "Harvey cheated on me, I slept with Scorpius, I told Harvey I cheated, which is how I found out about _him_ cheating for like two months, and I broke up with Harvey. The end."

"But you two had such a bright future," her mother said, getting teary eyed now.

"You slept with Scorpius? Like, Scorpius _Malfoy_?" James's fiancee asked, brows up. Lily grinned a tiny bit at that, especially when James looked round at her, because she had the 'damn, girl!' face.

"I know, right?" she murmured, then sobered under her father's stare.

"And you're okay?" he asked gruffly.

Lily bit her lip. "Um, mostly." She wasn't okay that she still didn't have Scorpius's number, and then added casually, "I mean, Al was really mean to me after I told him how Harvey and I split, but other than that…" The redhead sighed sadly and looked at her plate, biting her tongue to keep from smiling. Harry turned his stare to Albus, who frowned.

"I was not. It's not happening, Lily."

Lily shrugged. "What's not happening?" James demanded.

"She wants to hook up wi- OW!" Lily had kicked him under the table.

"Albus doesn't think I need solace and comfort," she said, pouting ever so slightly.

"That rat bastard!" her mother said sternly. "How dare he cheat on you, honey! Who is this other woman, what's her name?"

Albus glared at Lily. "You don't need any solace or comfort that can't be purchased."

James's eyes narrowed, even as Harry said, "Albus, be nicer to your sister. This is a hard time for her. You should be supporting her through this."

Lily barely refrained from sticking her tongue out at Albus. "I still can't believe…" Ginny murmured, looking down at her plate. "Oh, Lily, honey, I'm so sorry. But this is just a little hiccup on the road that is life, and-"

"It's cool, Mom," Lily said easily. "Really. I'm pretty much over it."

Albus looked at her suspiciously. "You better not be," he said. Lily grinned.

"Ooh, threats, Al?" she teased.

"Albus, you be nice to your sister!" Ginny snapped.

Green eyes rolled. "Mom, she banged the crap out of Scorpius Malfoy, and she just said she's over the guy she dated for like twenty percent of her life."

Lily felt her face go red and heard James's fiancee smother a giggle. "Good for you, Lily, honey," her mother said, patting her arm. "You're such a strong young lady, just like I raised you to be. I know you'll find another man to take care of you."

"Anyway," Lily said pointedly, "it's really not a big deal. And I don't need a man to take care of me, Mom. I'm a grown up, I take care of myself."

"That's kind of messed up," James said at last, and Lily, frowned. "You can't hook up with Al's best friend. And Malfoy should know better."

"He does know better," Albus said darkly, and his emerald gaze bored into Lily's hazel one. "That's why nothing else is going to happen with him, right, Lily?"

The redhead rolled her eyes and Ginny said firmly, "James, what on earth are you talking about? It's wonderful your sister is moving on after what is clearly a heartbreaking revelation, and Scorpius is such a nice boy."

The redhead beamed at her mother. "Too right, Mom." Hazel eyes darted back to Albus, who looked grumpy. "And last I checked, you don't get to decide who I spend time with," she added.

James snorted. "Goes against the man code," he grunted. His fiancee shot him a dark look. "What? It does," he said. Albus nodded his agreement.

"But Scorpius Malfoy is a hunk," she said and Lily grinned. James scowled. "Oh, hush, James. Nothing on you. But seriously, he's good looking, and if he's Al's friend, he must be a good person, right?" she said, looking pointedly at Albus, who nodded grudgingly. "So what's the harm?"

"Thanks Melissa," Lily said, beaming at her future sister in law.

"No worries," the other woman said, smirking a little. "If I was single, I'd be jealous as all get out, but after hearing some guy's been screwing around for the last couple months of your relationship, you deserve a good rebound."

"Let's eat," Harry Potter said before either James or Albus could comment, or there was anymore talk of banging and rebounding, and Ginny served dinner. Lily ate her way through second helpings of everything, including dessert, and felt content to never move ever again as she finally leaned back in her chair. Her phone buzzed in her purse and she glanced at the wall clock. It was five after eight.

"Shit," she breathed, hoping her mother, who was busy clearing up, wouldn't hear, and pulled out her phone as she got up from the table. "I have to run. Dinner was great, Mom."

"Thank you, honey," her mother said, and smiled. "But what's the hurry? Stay a moment, and I'll pack you up some leftovers."

"I have a date," Lily said, and snickered as Albus, who was also getting up from the table, scowled at her.

"It better not be-"

"Too late," Lily said, and kissed her mother's cheek, then hugged her father. "See you later," she called, heading toward the door. To her dismay, Albus was hot on her heels as she left, spotting Scorpius's all black Lexus parked on the street. She sent Albus a dirty look over her shoulder as her long legs carried her over their parents' front lawn quickly. Albus kept pace easily. "Go away," she snapped.

"No. I have to have a little chat with my best friend," Albus said, scowling right back. "You know, Malfoy, the fucking _traitor_ ," he added in a carrying voice. Scorpius got out of his car, looking a little uneasy.

"You told him?" Scorpius asked Lily, who frowned.

"He made me," she sighed, and folded her arms as Scorpius and Albus eyed each other up as though they'd never met.

"You're a shit friend," Albus growled. Scorpius merely lifted his brows.

"So are you," he replied evenly. Albus's face contorted.

"How so?"

Scorpius shrugged his wide shoulders. "Haven't you been telling me for ages I need to find a woman? Now I've found one, and you're acting as if I've committed the most heinous offence in the history of the world."

"I didn't mean my sister, asshat," Albus snarled. Scorpius smirked. "I meant someone…" Both Lily and Scorpius gave him questioning looks. "Fuck," Albus muttered. "Fuck you both. When this blows up, I'm going to have a fucking field day saying I told you so." He stomped to his car and backed out, pulling away without looking at either of them, and Lily felt a sliver of guilt. She'd known Albus was, obviously, opposed to his best friend hooking up with his little sister, but she hadn't thought he'd be so pissed.

"Still want to come for a drink?" Scorpius murmured, and Lily looked at him, leaning with casual elegance against the driver's door of his car, looking underwear model sexy with his well fitted dark jeans and slightly faded navy tee that clung to his shoulders enticingly. She licked her lips, unable to help remembering the afternoon she'd spent in his condo, and how damn perfect he looked naked.

"I'd love to," she replied, and made to move around the front of his car to the passenger side, but he caught her gently by the waist.

"Albus will get over it," he murmured, and Lily laughed a little.

"I doubt it," she said. "We Potters are awfully stubborn."

"So much for trying to make you feel better about it," he said, smirking, and then she braced both hands on his chest as he leaned in and kissed her. And it was just as hot and steamy as their last kiss, making Lily far too aware of any and every erogenous zone on her body, and crumbling any doubts she might have had about him and the advisability of taking him home.

"I'm a big girl, Malfoy, I can handle it," she murmured without thought when he broke away, and then jolted up onto her toes, kissing him again and backing him into his car, taking the blond by surprise. Her tongue pushed past his lips and he groaned, grabbing her ass, but then Lily pulled back. "Calm down, Casanova," she purred. "You owe me a drink."

"And you owe me a drink," he said as she finally pulled away completely and went around to the passenger side.

"Just nothing too expensive," she qualified, and buckled up as Scorpius pulled his car smoothly away from the curb and they motored out of her parents' suburb.

They pulled up at Lily's favourite bar ten minutes later, and the redhead smiled as they bypassed the long line, going right up to the bouncers who manned the doors. She felt a tad underdressed, without the benefits of things like eyeliner and Spanx, but they were admitted without comment, and Lily smiled, glad she'd worn a dress to dinner. "I love this place," she said as they went in. Scorpius smirked, because he'd specifically, after swallowing a large dose of pride, called his cousin Daphne to find out what sort of bar Lily liked, because he rather wanted to impress her. If only so he could have her naked and screaming his name in ecstasy again, of course.

"Me too," he said, although this was the first time he'd attended this particular bar. Lily made a beeline to get drinks, holding Scorpius's hand firmly, and weaved her way easily through the throng of people. And, to her delight, unlike her ex, Scorpius followed her lead, moving closer as they finally reached the bar. "You're good at moving through a crowd," he said against her ear, and Lily bit her lip against a shiver of arousal at the low note in his voice that dragged pleasurably over her ear.

The redhead grinned over her shoulder at him. "I have a lot of practice, especially in this bar," she admitted, and then flagged down a bartender by whistling and waving. Scorpius frowned a little at the young guy who came over, and frowned a lot when Lily purred, "Hello, gorgeous. I'm having a margarita." Her eyes flicked up to Scorpius.

"Heineken," he said firmly, eyes narrowing a little as the bartender didn't even look at him.

"Anything else, doll?" the guy asked with a thick Cuban accent.

"That's all," Lily said, and smiled, batting her lashes.

"Seventeen even," he said lightly, and Lily smiled, reached into her purse, and handed him a twenty.

"Keep the change," she said, and the guy smiled, then whipped up drink, and Scorpius frowned at him. After he slid her margarita over, Lily smiled coyly, sipped, and turned back toward the tall blond after a second big, fortifying gulp of margarita. "And that is how you make an eleven dollar drink," she said, "into a nine dollar drink."

"I thought I was supposed to buy your drink," he teased.

"You can buy the next round," Lily said, and grinned a little wickedly, because she planned to get shots next round, too. "C'mon, let's dance," she said, and Scorpius pulled a face.

"I don't really dance," he said. The redhead grinned hugely and he fought the urge to cringe at the look in her bright hazel eyes. "And you can't make me," he added for good measure.

"Not even a two step?" she asked over the music as they drifted away from the bar.

"Maybe if I was twelve more drinks in."

Lily laughed, throwing her head back, a full on belly laugh of sheer hilarity. And it was loud, and guffawing, and someone may have even looked around, but Scorpius didn't care, because he thought she looked nothing short of spectacular when she really laughed. "Wow," she breathed, finally regaining control of herself. "That's horrible. C'mon," she said, and grabbed his hand, dragging him toward the dance floor. Scorpius chugged half his beer, hoping for liquid courage, but put the brakes on when he saw people dancing, and Lily stopped dead, almost spilling her drink on herself.

"I seriously don't dance," he said, looking downright edgy as she turned back toward him.

"You don't have to," she purred, and chugged the last half of her drink in three gulps before plastering herself to his front, hips swaying invitingly against him to the beat. "You just have to let me dance all up on you," she added against his ear, and Scorpius grasped her waist with his free hand.

"Lily," he said, and she smirked, because he sounded like a man condemned.

"You can even grab my ass a little if you like," she said, and slid down his front, gyrating seductively, turned on her toes in his grasp and ground her ass back up his thigh. "So?"

"I don't think-"

"Don't think," she said. "Thinking inhibits natural dancing talent. Just move."

"There are other people," he said, in a last ditch effort, but then Lily was rubbing her pert, perfect ass against his crotch in time to the music, and Scorpius couldn't help but respond, moving against her instinctively.

"You can do it, put your back into it," she sang along with the song, and Scorpius watched her drop, pop, and lift seductively back up, a little in awe. She turned back to face him and tossed her beastly red hair, looped both arms around his neck, and swayed against him again. She felt the brush of something hard in his jeans and her mouth watered. His eyes were dark and stormy, like when he'd told her he wanted her to come before he fucked her, and Lily felt a jolt of electric wanting prickle over her skin, a hot gush of liquid arousal dampening her panties.

Her favourite part of the song came on and she writhed and gyrated all over Scorpius, enjoying his warm hand roving over her, and, to her mingled shock and delight, he actually two stepped a little with her after a couple more songs. And, because she was feeling a little buzzed and she liked to be a show off, right toward the end of the song several minutes later, Lily bent over backward, arms extended, and he held her to him as she arched completely away, nearly bending in half the wrong way.

"Ready for that second round?" he rumbled after she lifted back up, pressed against him from navel to knees.

"Oh yeah," she breathed, and they headed back to the bar.

And though Scorpius, who Lily thought was pretty fucking hot, seemed to attract the eye of every female in the vicinity, didn't make any movement except a slight turn of his head to face one of the female bartenders down a ways, he got service in almost record time. "Hi," he said to the bartender, a busty brunette with blond highlights and bright pink lipstick when she came over.

"Hey," she said, and grinned. "What can I get you, honey?"

Lily avoided the urge to narrow her eyes at this woman, feeling distinctly nettled as Scorpius leaned casually against the bar and toward the bartender. "A bottle of Heineken, if you please. And a margarita."

The woman sucked in a breath and Lily did narrow her eyes now as pink lips curved into a coy smile and mascara heavy lashes were batted. "You got it, honey. Anything else?"

Scorpius smiled a little bit, but before he could say a word, Lily pressed herself impossibly closer to his side and said loudly, "Two tequila shots."

The brunette glanced over, smile wavering for a beat, then lifted her brows at Scorpius, who slid an arm around Lily's waist. "Please," he said politely, putting more than enough cash down, and the bartender grinned, then lined up their shots and produced salt and lemon wedges before going to rustle up their drinks.

Lily licked her hand and dusted it liberally with salt, throwing some over her left shoulder just in case for good measure, eyed up the shots before picking one up and met dark grey eyes with challenge. "Cheers," she said, smiling a little. Scorpius picked up his own shot glass, and saluted her with it lightly.

"Your good health," he murmured, and clinked his little glass against hers gently. Lily licked her salt, downed her shot, and bit into the lemon with a grimace as Scorpius watched and then he took his without even flinching, without the aid of salt or lemon. "I hope you aren't planning to try getting me drunk," he teased, pulling her impossibly close again, and Lily chuckled huskily, feeling definitely tipsy after her shot.

"Oh no, I thought that was your plan," she teased, and before she realized, or could think to stop herself, her hand smoothed down his stomach to rest suggestively at his belt.

"Is it working?" he rumbled, but then the bartender returned with drinks, winking pointedly at Scorpius, even as Lily felt the blond's hand slide over her ass. "Thank you," he said with flawless manners, and the woman beamed.

"Thank _you_ , honey."

Lily sipped her margarita, and Scorpius made no move to vacate their place at the bar, or remove his hand from her ass. "Please tell me I'm not going to be subjected to more dancing torture," he said, the tiniest hint of pleading seeping in making her laugh.

"You really hate dancing that much?" she said.

Scorpius shrugged, because he rather thought the real torture was having Lily's long, lithe body rubbing and grinding all over him, and her luscious curves gyrating and shaking temptingly, when he wasn't allowed to get her naked and fuck her silly. "For the most part."

Lily grinned, but then her favourite pop song, charting at number one for weeks now, came on, and she couldn't help herself. And the tequila was working its way into her, making her feel loose and far less inhibited than she suspected she would've been if she'd been sober, like whenever she went out with Harvey. So she gave the tall sexy blond her very best puppy dog eyes and dragged him back out to dance with her.

By the time she finished her margarita, Lily had all but forgotten why she shouldn't sleep with Scorpius again, and when he rumbled into her ear, "Are you ready for dessert?" she moaned, feeling halfway to coming already.

"Oh yeah," she groaned, and barely contained herself on the walk back to the doors of the bar, holding onto his warm, strong hand and following his lead easily as he melted through the crowd. Once they got outside, the blast of warm night air, thick and muggy with impending rain, Lily felt her desire reaching dizzying heights, her lust fuelled by alcohol and primal attraction. He pressed her up against the driver's side door of his car in the dim parking lot, kissing her ravenously, tangling his hands in her hair. Lily couldn't hold back her moan of delight, even as his lips moved up her jaw and down her neck, licking, kissing, biting her sanity and decorum to shreds.

"Oh, fuck yes, Scorpius," she breathed, clutching him and smoothing her palms over every hard plane of him. Around his shoulders, through his hair, down his chest and around to his back, kissing him hungrily and desperately, her body writhing and arching, dying for more.

"Christ, Lily," he grunted, even she attempted to remove his black button down shirt. "If you don't get in the car, we might not make it back to your place for that dessert," he rumbled, hands completely under her dress which was steadily creeping up over her hips with every arch and wriggle of arousal she made, and fisted around her tiny black lace thong.

She bit her lip to hold in the urge to giggle drunkenly, but withdrew her hands from him and sucked in a deep breath, trying to control her rampaging desire. They got into his car and Lily chewed her lip, trying to resist the temptation Scorpius presented. It didn't work, but the blond man didn't seem to mind that Lily leaned in and kissed him suggestively at red lights or that her hands had become distinctly wandering, trying with little success to rattle his iron-like composure with little success, but thoroughly turning herself on the more she tried.

XXX


	6. Chapter 6

XXX

By the time they got into her flat, both were naked from the waist up, Lily's tongue was in Scorpius's mouth, his hands grabbing her ass again as he ground the solid length of his arousal against her dripping panties. Lily slung a leg around his hip, hands moving up his chest to loop around his neck, and he grunted as she moaned and rolled her hips against him. Her dress was bunched around her waist, and as Scorpius broke from her mouth to kiss a hot line down her jaw and neck, one of Lily's hands carded through his soft blond hair, making a fist as she inhaled on a gasp, feeling the graze of his teeth against the sensitive flesh over her carotid. She exhaled on a moan as his tongue laved away the sting, lips dragging down to her collarbone as he pressed her back against her front door.

The redhead felt her mind whirling, caught up in a sea of pleasure, and whether it was from the alcohol thundering through her veins, or because Scorpius was more potent than even tequila to her, she barely registered her surroundings. Even as his left hand slid up and into her hair, the right curving further in from her ass to tease the hot, slick crevice between her legs, pressing the sodden lace against every nook and cranny of her. All Lily could focus on was how turned on she was, and how good his solid weight felt pressed against her, and how badly she wanted him naked and in her bed, filling her and fucking her, preferably immediately.

"Christ, so fucking wet," he rumbled, teasing her damp furrow, making Lily arch and whine with need.

"Fuck yes," she panted. "God, I fucking need you, Scorpius," she groaned, pulling his face back to kiss him again. The blond moaned back into the kiss, and she all but squealed her delight when he flicked her panties aside and traced his fingers through her arousal, coating his digits in her juices, flicking her clit hard enough to have her biting his lower lip.

"Say it again," he growled, and Lily's head thunked backward into the door, pelvis bucking eagerly into his teasing touch against her slit, not quite penetrating her and driving her wild.

"I need you," she moaned, and reached for his belt.

"No," Scorpius said, and she whimpered as he removed her questing hand, one of his strong hands pinning her wrist above her head. "My name," he grunted. "Say my name again, Lily."

"Scorpius," she pleaded, hazel eyes heavy lidded as she met his thundercloud grey ones, and he rewarded her by plunging two fingers into her pussy, curling them deliciously. " _Scorpius_!" she repeated when the slightly rough fingertips within her pressed hard against the spongy part of her front wall, and stars burst behind her eyelids as he began pumping his digits in and out. "Oh fuck _yes_!"

"Do you like that, honey?" he purred, kissing her neck just below her ear, still holding one of her hands above her head, the other making her arousal coil tighter and tighter within, pushing her ever closer to release. Lily whimpered, nodding frantically, beyond speech. "You're so fucking hot, darling, and so damn wet. Mmm, just for me," he growled, fingering her harder, and faster, those delicious fingers grazing the very best spot.

"Scorpius!" she mewled when his thumb brushed her throbbing clit.

"Yes, Lily," he panted, kissing her neck again, licking the throbbing pulse beneath his mouth. "Fuck, honey, I want you to come for me," he grunted, and Lily's eyes rolled back in her head, even as she tensed and began to clench around him. "Fuck _yes_ ," he hissed against her ear, tongue flicking the lobe, and pressed his thumb firmly to her hard little clitoris and rubbed in a firm, tight circle, pushing her over the edge and into bliss.

Scorpius grit his teeth against the urge to come in his pants as Lily cried out, eyes clenched shut and nails digging hard enough into his shoulder to draw blood, her other hand flexing instinctively, as she ground herself into his hand and rode out the waves of euphoria, moaning his name. "So good," he groaned, kissing her once more, but softer now, and Lily whimpered when he pulled his fingers away at last, the trembling aftershocks making her shudder after teasing out all the delirious pleasure he could possibly wring from her in the aftermath of her orgasm. She sucked in a ragged breath, libido tempered but not quenched.

"You're not bad yourself," she purred, opening hazel eyes as he released her wrist, and she plastered herself to his front even as he lifted her away from the door. Her legs locked around his hips, and she planted a line of molten, teasing, open-mouthed kisses across every available portion of his neck she could reach as he carried her to the bedroom.

"Honey, I think we both know that was better than 'not bad'," he murmured, climbing up into her bed with her, laying her out and moving directly over top of her. Lily kissed the corner of his jaw, arching her hips to assist him as he stripped her soaked lingerie.

" _So_ much better," she agreed, reaching once more for Scorpius's belt, smirking a little. "But you've only gotten a taste of that dessert," she purred, undoing the buckle.

The blond quickly assisted her in the removal of his pants, and she watched hungrily as he sat back and rolled the condom onto his thick, mouthwatering, and absolutely pussy-drenching erection. "A shame," he rumbled, making Lily falter for a beat. "Because I'm fucking starved for it, honey, and I don't feel much like waiting a second longer."

Lily grinned, then pushed his shoulder aside, rolling them and coming to rest atop him. "Good," she purred, tossing her hair. "Because I'm not going to wait," she added, and after stroking his hard on twice, she lifted to fit him within herself. They moaned in tandem, her as she accommodated his large cock, him as he felt her slick, tight core inviting him into its depths.

"Oh fuck," Scorpius grunted, hands moving to grasp her hips hard, even as Lily immediately began to rock back and forth on him.

"Yes," she hissed, eyes closed, and then bit her lower lip, bracing her splayed palms on his firm chest, lifting just a little before sinking back down greedily. "Oh fuck _yes_."

Scorpius looked up at her, her eyes closed, face contorted in ecstatic pleasure, and fought the urge to come immediately. He wanted to savour her, but god damn it, if she was going to insist on teasing him, gyrating and rocking and barely fucking herself on him, he'd never last. "Ride me," he growled, lifting her bodily before slamming her back down, and none too gently. Lily's hazel eyes flew open, mouth parting on a moan.

"Scorpius," she growled, leaning down to kiss him, but he gave her no quarter. Even as she nibbled his lower lip and licked the sleek muscle inside his own mouth, he used his superior strength to move her up and down and all over his cock, trying to refrain from losing it too early.

"Tell me you like that," he demanded as she broke the lip lock to gasp in air as he thrust upward, even as he pulled her down, feeling himself bottoming out almost painfully inside her. She threw her head back, a cry of utmost satisfaction falling from her lips and then looked down, her massive mane of hair making a curtain around them, tickling his face.

"I fucking love it," she moaned, turning her head as she buried her face in his neck to nibble his earlobe. The blond held her tighter, not wanting to admit she'd found his Achilles heel in the bedroom. His ears, apparently, were more sensitive than just about everywhere else, and he knew he wouldn't bring her to completion again if she kept teasing him like that, her plump lips suckling at the lobe of flesh now. She mewled needily as he rolled them once more, moving atop her without ceasing in his almost brutal fucking, and Lily clutched onto him for dear life.

"I want to have you every single way," he groaned, pulling back as he braced himself on one elbow, hooking her thigh up, from around his hips, to almost over his shoulder. She gasped and writhed, pinned and loving the angle change, and whimpered. "I want to make you come until you fucking can't anymore," he murmured, picking up the pace a bit, slamming into her faster and impossibly harder.

"Yes, yes, _yes_!" she moaned, the heated, lascivious sounds of their shagging making her hotter and wetter.

"I want to fucking ruin you for anyone else, honey," he growled through gritted teeth, feeling the telltale tug behind his navel that indicated he'd passed the point of no return.

"Please, Scorpius!" she cried out, one hand fisted around the sheets, the other clutching him ruthlessly as he fucked her silly. " _Yes_!"

"Fuck yes, Lily," he snarled, and just before he lost the last shred of control he possessed, he felt her slick heat clench and flutter spasmodically around him as she roared a moan and screamed his name. And just as his desire soaked brain realized she was coming, again, all over him, he felt a blast of white hot pleasure and lost himself into his own explosive release with a howl.

Some time later, they both opened their eyes, still trying to catch their breath, and Lily couldn't help but smile foolishly, even as Scorpius pressed her comfortably into her mattress, and she was sure she looked ridiculous, but couldn't stop the wide, stupid, utterly sated grin that crossed her lips. "Wow," she panted, her hands now softly stroking over his shoulders and neck, carding gently through his hair.

"Mmm," Scorpius hummed in agreement, face buried in her neck, the weight of his body still pressing her into the mattress.

"I don't suppose you want seconds, do you?" Lily asked, still grinning like an idiot. The blond lifted his head and looked at her, his face a mixture of wonder and surprise and suspicion, but mostly frank appreciation she was teasing him with round two. "You strike as the sort who likes more than one helping of dessert," she said, smirking.

A slow smile spread across his full lips, and, even as his flaccid cock slipped from her as he rolled off while he tugged her with him to their sides, he chuckled. "I do rather enjoy my desserts, honey," he admitted, cuddling her up against his chest. "But I like them best in the middle of the night, when there's no one around to berate me for overindulging."

Lily smirked, because that sounded like he was inviting himself over to stay the night, and she couldn't be more pleased. She snuggled into him closer, enjoying the heavy weight of his arm around her middle, holding her close, and the decadent feel of his naked skin against hers. "Me too," she murmured happily, and before she knew it, was drifting off to sleep.

Lily opened her eyes on Monday morning, feeling equally sore and tired and ever so slightly hung over. She hummed, feeling the steady breathing and solid warmth of a distinctly masculine form behind her, and although she ached from the vigorous, mind blowing three rounds of fucking they'd partaken in last night, and very early that morning, Lily arched her back and rubbed her arse against the distinct feeling of a half hard cock. She peeked at the clock on her nightstand, noting she had another twenty five minutes before her six thirty alarm would be demanding she drag her ass out of bed to shower and face the day.

Scorpius grunted sleepily, his dick twitching to wakefulness as she smirked and reached behind herself to stroke him, wondering if the sexy blond would be interested in yet another roll in the sheets to start their morning. Lily knew it would make classes, especially her advanced hot yoga session scheduled for right before lunch, a nightmare, but she couldn't resist. It wasn't every day she happened to wake up in bed with a man willing to try anything and wanting to fuck her in, literally, every position they could think of together. She bit her lip on a giggle as she canted her hips and teased his prick against the cleft of her ass, hearing his breathing hitch as he grasped her breast and his mouth moved to kiss the nape of her neck.

The redhead rolled over as her lover sprawled onto his back, smirking at her with sleepy, soft grey eyes that were still darkened with lust and grasped his prick firmly, stroking him with purpose now. "Good morning," he said, voice gravelly with mingled sleep and arousal. Lily kissed the velvety head of his cock and then stretched over him to fish in her nightstand for another condom. "I admit, you're probably the best wake up call I've ever had," he added, tangling his fingers in her mass of snarled and sleep tousled red hair.

"Mmm, is that so?" Lily purred, slinking back, still grasping the length of velvet wrapped steel in one hand, and brushed her lips teasingly up the underside of his prick. Scorpius grunted, his hand fisting in her hair. "I'd think some army drill sergeant screaming would be a much more effective way of getting you up," she said, and grinned as she retraced the path her lips had taken with her tongue.

"I can promise you, honey," he groaned, fists tightening a little as her wicked tongue swirled around the head of his cock, tasting his precome, "no member of the army has ever gotten me _up_ quite as effectively as you."

Lily pulled back, grinning, and tore the condom open with her teeth, unwilling to release her new favourite toy. "Lucky me."

"And lucky me, too," Scorpius said, then pulled her up to kiss her fervently. Neither did much more speaking for awhile, until they were thoroughly sated, and the used prophylactic had been discarded into the trash can tucked under Lily's nightstand.

Lily was lying on her stomach, unable to move after that last shagging, humming softly in contentment as Scorpius, spooned up beside her, absently stroked patterns into the skin of her lower back, and the redhead groaned as her damnable alarm started beeping cheerily, telling her she had to get the hell up when every muscle, internal and external, protested against the thought. "I don't think I want to work today," she sighed, even as she extricated herself from Scorpius and slapped the alarm off.

"Call in sick," Scorpius murmured.

"Can't," Lily replied. "One of the downsides of being the owner of my own studio is I can't bail on classes." She groaned as she forced herself to sit up. "Besides, there's no one else to cover me." Scorpius smirked and she got grudgingly out of bed, stretching languidly. "What about you?" she asked. "Are you planning to get up?"

The blond man shrugged. "I guess," he said, scratching his flat, toned belly.

"Well if _you_ plan on calling in sick to work, you can't stay here," she said firmly, even as part of her, the most prudish and old-fashioned facet, blushed at him seeing her naked in the morning light filtering in through her curtains, even if he'd seen it all before.

Scorpius chuckled, but sat up, even as Lily bent to grab her dirty laundry and toss it in the hamper as she got ready to get clean and start her day. "Fair enough," he said. "Although I wouldn't mind, for the record, staying here a little longer and making you late for your classes."

Lily rolled hazel eyes, picked up his boxer briefs, and chucked them at his face. Scorpius laughed, catching them easily. "If we have sex again, I'm going to permanently injure myself," she snarked. "And you couldn't get it up again if you tried, I bet."

"Hey, that's not nice," he teased. Lily shook her head, chuckling at the amusement in his tone, as she reached down and grasped his jeans, meaning to toss them at Scorpius as well. But as she lifted the denim, which felt quite heavy, there was a dull thunk of something hard, and solid, and metal hitting her floor.

For a moment, Lily wasn't sure, entirely, what she was staring at. Because, unless she was dreaming after falling asleep again in Scorpius's arms, or hallucinating from too much sexual pleasure crammed into a single night, she was fairly certain she was looking at a gun. She stood there, bent over, looking at the black object that had quite obviously dislodged itself from his pants when he'd tossed them off the side of her bed the night before. _But that can't be a gun. Guns are weapons, and who the hell in their right mind carries a lethal weapon on them to meet a woman for drinks and some casual sex?_

"Shit," Scorpius said, and reached around her, picking up the firearm and setting it on her bed. And when Lily looked at him, she realized, with a cold dose of shocking reality, that it was indeed a real gun, and Scorpius had, quite obviously been wearing it last night.

"What the fuck is that?" she asked, her voice sounding high pitched and almost hysterical to her own ears.

"A Ruger LC9s Pro," the blond replied evenly. Lily slowly stood upright, feeling as if she'd just been punched in the gut, and also like she was on the verge of either laughing or crying.

"Do I _want_ to know why the hell you have a gun in my apartment?" she asked. _Oh my God, I just had the best sex of my life with a fucking psycho who carries a fucking gun!_

Scorpius's brows pulled together ever so slightly. "Lily," he said calmly, "it's perfectly safe."

She laughed, but the sound was hollow, and desperate, and she thought it came across as distinctly hysterical, even to her own ears. "Guns kill people!" she crowed. Her breathing started to increase as her heart rate jumped, and she backed away slowly, no longer concerned by her nudity. "You need to go. And take that... _thing_ with you! I can't believe you didn't tell me you've been carrying a fucking _gun_ this whole time!" Her voice began to rise in pitch and desperation. "I'm seriously not okay with that! Oh my God, Scorpius, what if it went off!? Is it even legal to carry that thing around!? Where the hell were you hiding it?" She was panting now, anxiety and adrenaline coursing through her. "Oh shit, holy fuck, wait. Is that fucking thing _loaded_!?"

"Lily," Scorpius said firmly, standing up, leaving the firearm on her bed, taking a step toward her. She backed away three paces, holding a hand up to stop his forward progression. "Yes, it's legal, yes I've had it on my person since the day you met me, and no, it is not just going to 'go off'."

"You need to go," Lily repeated.

"Lily," Scorpius said again, but she glared.

"No!" she hissed. "I'm anti-guns, okay!? I don't want that shit in my flat, or my life, and certainly not on the guy I've spent the better part of the last eight hours having phenomenal sex with!"

"I can explain," the blond said, even as he picked up his pants and stepped into them, seemingly following her orders to leave.

"Explain what!?" she shrieked. "You should have 'explained' this crap last night! Or yesterday morning!" _Or any of the other times you've fucking seen me_!

"I have a license to carry concealed," he said, the picture of calm, even as the redhead felt herself freaking out to the max. He zipped and buttoned his jeans. "I'm a responsible gun owner, having been in the military," he continued, still in that same calming, almost soothingly placating, tone. "And I can promise you, Lily, that the main reason I wear it at all times isn't to go bat shit crazy and blow people away, but because I work security, for private clients, who expect no less."

Lily paused at that. "You work security?" she asked, and then realized she'd never actually bothered to ask what he did for a living, after learning he was ex-military. She'd simply assumed he lived off whatever pension that granted him, and hadn't thought he'd actually been gainfully employed. The thought made her pause, and she felt a bubble of shame, that she'd figured out just how he liked his cock stroked, and sucked off, and how he preferred fucking, but nothing more about the man who stood across from her in her bedroom.

"Yes," Scorpius said. "I own my own firm with a good friend of mine."

"If you own the place why do you have to carry a gun?" she demanded.

Scorpius smirked at her, then moved in close, and Lily was, painfully almost, aware yet again of how utterly naked she was, while he looked the picture of masculine dominance with his meaty arms and broad shoulders and chest, his six pack on glorious display and within touching distance. She purposefully folded her arms over her chest and tossed her long, snarled mane of hair, trying to ignore the feeling of his body heat radiating out to whisper over her skin and the honesty radiating from his stormy grey eyes. He leaned in, and for a beat, Lily was certain he would kiss her, and held her breath expectantly. "Why do you teach your own classes if you own your studio?" he shot back, his lips barely whispering across hers as his hands came to rest at the small of her back.

"Because I-" she breathed, but got lost as she stared at him, their eyes locked, mouths breathing the same air. "You're not being fair," she said once she'd recovered her ability to think about anything other than how much this man was beginning to mean to her, realizing the point he was trying to make.

"I'm being honest," he said, still grinning smugly, looking entirely too handsome. "When there's an emergency, or I'm requested by our top clients to work, I have to be there, and it lends more than a few people to feeling protected and safe in crisis situations knowing I'm armed and more than capable of controlling myself with my weapon."

The redhead wanted to stamp her foot at his obvious sense, and the casual way he talked about possibly _firing_ the black monstrosity that sat innocently on her bed, nestled in the mussed sheets she'd just gone to heaven upon. But, she couldn't deny, he sounded utterly reasonable, even if she didn't like it. The thought of seeing more of him, something she was all for across the board, seemed like an impossibility if he was constantly armed with a gun. "I don't like it," she said at last, and only grudgingly, unable to handle the silence between them as they stood, breaths mingling, lips almost pressed together, and his strong hands holding her close with relaxed confidence.

"And I'm not terribly fond of having you sliding out of bed, away from me, at six thirty in the damn morning, honey, but I can handle it." Lily frowned and Scorpius's face turned serious. "Can you?" he asked, almost gravely.

Lily gulped. Here it was, the out to escape the clutches of a man comfortable wielding, at almost all times, a lethal weapon, and one who had probably used one, with deadly accuracy she didn't doubt, before. But instead of taking the road of least resistance, the easy way out, Lily mustered her courage, trying to remain open minded that, perhaps, Scorpius would be adult enough to realize how much she was against his gun carrying ways. "I can handle it," she said firmly. Scorpius's eyes dropped to peruse her figure, making the redhead blush, but then she felt his hands move around to her hips.

"I'm willing to take you at your word," he murmured, and Lily scowled at his tone, as if he secretly thought she might not really be able to be okay with whoever he might be, even if it was only because she was interested in having nothing more than casual, phenomenal sex.

"I should fucking hope so," she said.

Scorpius smirked, looking unbearably sexy, and the redhead melted against him against her better judgement. "Me too," he said, and then kissed her, long and slow, his lips moving with subtle, leisurely precision over hers, making Lily want to do nothing more than slip back into bed with him and let him show her one last time how fantastic a lover he was.

"You're going to make me late," she said after Scorpius had pulled back, looking more smug than ever.

"Good," he said.

Lily pulled away by sheer dint of will. "Meet me at my studio, after classes," she said, trying to convince herself with limited success she wasn't interested in simply taking the sexy, hulking blond home to fuck into oblivion, but getting to know him properly. "Four o'clock."

Scorpius grinned. "Perfect," he said easily, and kissed her again.

"That still means I'm kicking you out," Lily said, because she knew she'd never be ready to leave on time with Scorpius there to distract her with his sexy body and honest eyes. "I can't be late."

Scorpius grinned. "I can take a hint, Lily," he murmured, and pulled away. "Even if you're tempting as sin." Lily blushed, and Scorpius leaned down to kiss the corner of her mouth. "See you at four," he said, and after retrieving his gun, which made Lily shiver in fear again upon seeing, walked out of her bedroom. A minute later, the redhead heard the door open and close, and even though part of her was glad to be able to get ready, a tiny sliver was just the tiniest bit outraged that he'd just up and left. Even if she'd told him to.

XXX


	7. Chapter 7

XXX

The next morning, as Lily was pushing into her studio, stifling a yawn, her phone buzzed and she sighed, hoping to God it wasn't her assistant Grace, who taught the amateur classes first thing in the morning, calling in. But, although she prayed as she pulled up the text, it was, indeed, a text from her only employee saying that she'd be unable to come in, as she was suffering from a severe migraine. Lily didn't quite believe it, but sighed, texted back a wish for her assistant to feel better as soon as possible, and not so subtly implore her not to cancel for the long day they'd be facing together the next day. And even as she sighed, wishing she could have called in herself, even if she truly loved her job, Lily still smiled as Grace texted back that she was the very best, and would be back the next day with extra pep in her step.

"Fuck," Lily grumbled, even though she couldn't bring herself to be properly pissed at Grace, and headed immediately to her office to dump her bag and try to get herself together for the back to back morning beginners' classes. She knew she should be going over her books, and working out her fall schedule, not to mention think about how she could work her meditation techniques into the advanced afternoon session, but instead pushed into the main room after exiting her office, setting up the spare mats and getting prepped for the class she hadn't taught in the last six months or so.

She pasted on a smile as the first of the arrivals began trickling in, and although she recalled most of them from signing them up, after they provided their names upon shaking her hand, there were more than a few she was certain Grace had recruited herself when she drew a complete blank upon seeing them.

At five to eight, almost all the class had arrived, and Lily, trying to smile through her disappointment, started showing the newest sign ups, some of whom she know would quit practising her craft after their two month membership expired, where they could borrow mats and where to fill up their water bottles at the sink in the side room. She came back out, and froze, her eyes landing on an all too familiar face. "What are you doing here?" she asked blankly, feeling her heart thumping unevenly, her palms too sweaty, even as suspicion crawled up her spine in a tingly mess of nerves.

Harvey looked back at her. "I wanted to talk to you, see you," the traitorous bastard said softly, looking repentant and pathetic. Lily couldn't help comparing, in the privacy of her thoughts, the dejected looking man standing before her with the man she'd made plans to meet up with after work. _Is it bad to prefer a gun-toting hunk to this_? "I wanted to ap-"

"No," she said. "Not right now. I'm _working_."

Harvey pulled a face, and she braced for the confrontation that was sure to come. Braced for him to be stubborn, and pigheaded, like usual. Braced for the inevitable fight. But to Lily's surprise, her ex merely held up his hands, palms out, and shrugged. "Alright," he sighed, and shot her the wounded puppy dog eyes that had won her over before, too many times, in the past, to forgive his wrongs.

Lily held firm. She had way too much to worry about that day to get suckered into an impromptu meeting with Harvey first thing. And she was embarrassed he'd thought she'd just forget there were a dozen other people around to discuss their broken relationship with him right then. "You need to go," she said softly, with iron firmness, and Harvey nodded.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, but Lily was already turning away. She was past wanting to hear an apology.

"Goodbye, Harvey," she said with finality. She watched him head back out of her studio, forcing a smile that made her cheeks ache, and turned to her class. "Alright, is everyone ready to get started?" she asked.

By the time four o'clock rolled around, and Lily had dismissed her last class, she was wiped. Her busy night before, combined with her only employee calling in sick, had made Lily's day damn near unbearable. And when she at last waved her class out, she sucked in a deep breath, sank bonelessly onto the polished, light maple floors of the studio, and laid out spread eagle, completely wiped. She knew she had paperwork to think about, books to balance, and plenty of other work left over from the morning to accomplish, but all she could manage was to lay there and breathe, trying to relax herself and her tired body, and quiet her mind.

And five minutes after four, that's where Scorpius Malfoy, who'd been thinking of no one but the deliciously sexy, and altogether contradictory redhead all day, found her. Lying on the floor with her eyes closed, looking like she'd fallen asleep right there in her cropped leggings and tank top, hair sprawled all around her, face peaceful in rest. He moved over to where she lay and crouched down, watching one of her eyes crack open. "Scorpius?" she murmured, then both eyes snapped fully open and she sat up.

"Hi," he said.

"Shit, what time is it?" she asked, rolling her shoulders, trying to work the stiffness from them. Scorpius stood with masculine grace then extended a hand to help Lily haul herself off the floor. She leaned into him for a beat, trying to absorb some of the strength that oozed off of the tall, built blond, and then stepped back abruptly as she recalled that morning.

"Just after four," he replied, smiling slightly. "Were you sleeping?"

"No," Lily said, hoping she hadn't actually dozed off as she'd meditated. "My assistant called in sick, and I've had a really long day, and I'm bushed," she sighed.

"Does that mean you're not interested in having dinner with me?" he murmured, slowly drawing her closer, one of his large, strong hands sliding around her waist. Lily licked her lips, knowing she should say no and go home for an early night after finishing her office work. But her stomach rumbled loudly, and she wouldn't at all mind spending a couple hours around Scorpius and properly getting to know him. _Even if he's probably still carrying that fucking gun_.

"Dinner sounds great," she admitted with a shy smile, then looked down at herself. "Let me just go change first." She went into her office, pulling out the fresh change of clothes she kept on hand for the odd time she had a meeting or had to dash out between classes to hit up the bank and didn't want to wear sweaty yoga gear, and changed quickly in the bathroom.

Once she was presentable, and had taken down her hair, convincing herself the massive dark red beast was acceptably tame without any fussing, she flicked off all the lights, powered down her computer, and made sure all the inner doors were locked as they should be. Scorpius was waiting for her by the front door and Lily smiled as his dark grey eyes roved over her teal blouse and snug dark wash skinny jeans appreciatively. "Ready to go?" he asked, and she couldn't help melting against him briefly, tilting her chin up and rising onto her tiptoes to kiss him lazily.

"Yes," she breathed, and groaned softly as Scorpius cupped her ass in both hands and kissed her harder. "I just have to lock up." The blond watched as she set the state of the art alarm, pulled the shades, and then double locked the front door. By the time she'd slid into his car, she'd all but forgotten that she'd had a crappy day, and the incident with her douche bag ex had all but slipped from her memory.

It was rather late by the time Lily got back to her flat much later that night, climbing the stairs hand in hand with Scorpius, still laughing at the bawdy joke he'd told her as he parked, feeling utterly relaxed and superbly buoyant after an awful day made good with a great dinner and the promise of a fantastic night to come with the sexy blond hunk in her bed. So when she reached the top of the stairs, feeling Scorpius join her a half step and seconds later, and saw the surly, wretched face of the last man on the planet she wanted to see, Lily felt her temper flare.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded for the second time that day, releasing Scorpius's hand to plant both fists on her hips.

But it appeared her ex was more interested in her accompaniment than Lily and her frustrated rage. "Who the hell are you?" Harvey demanded, glaring hard at Scorpius, his blue eyes roving over the well-built blond with accusatory disdain.

Scorpius's blond brows lifted. "Scorpius Malfoy," he replied without extending a hand to shake. "Who the hell are you?"

Lily watched Harvey flinch, as if he'd never been spoken to as such, and she had to bite back a smile, because she didn't think her philandering ex actually _had_ ever been spoken to with such obvious dismissal. Harvey drew himself up to his full height, although Lily noticed he was still dwarfed by the hulking blond beside her. "I'm Harvey Denton Williams," he said, and then added, his nose tilting into the air, "the _third_."

Scorpius smiled slowly. "Damn, and here I was thinking I'd lucked out," he said, and Lily bit her cheek to keep from smiling as well, even as Harvey's brows drew together.

"Beg pardon?" he said pompously. Lily felt the urge to smile recede, because she was instantly reminded of exactly how insulting Harvey could be, and had no desire to have the man she was undeniably attracted to go toe to toe with him. Especially because part of her was still looking forward to having Scorpius spend the night again.

"Sorry," Lily said lightly, grimacing a tiny bit. "You had a good run of not meeting him, at least."

"That's your ex?" Scorpius asked, turning to look at Lily, and the redhead pulled a face, half begging him to simply not engage Harvey, half pleading for him to punch the bastard in the face.

"In the flesh," Lily sighed, then looked back at Harvey. "What do you want?" she asked again.

"We need to talk," Harvey said, his slightly unfocused and bloodshot gaze meeting the redhead's, and moved in close to her, seemingly writing Scorpius, and whatever threat he might pose, off entirely.

"We don't have _anything_ to talk about," Lily said firmly, and swallowed, trying to hold her temper and simultaneously get herself together.

"Yes we do," Harvey said, stepping closer, reaching to grasp her wrist. Lily jerked her appendage away, seeing Harvey's blue eyes dart to Scorpius. "You still have a bunch of my stuff," Harvey said.

"Should've thought about that before cheating on me," Lily snarled.

"Lily, please," Harvey said, and reached for her shoulder this time. Lily felt the tension in the hall rise as she flinched back out of reach into Scorpius, who had gone still and tense.

" _Don't_ touch me," she said darkly. Harvey's mouth twisted as, behind her, Scorpius put a calming hand on her hip.

"Well obviously you're still all fired up," he said coolly, stepping back again. "I'll let you know when I'm available to collect my belongings," he added, then shot Scorpius a darkly calculating look. "Hopefully by then, you'll be willing to talk about this, and about us, Lily," he said.

"Don't count on it," the redhead said, chest heaving as she tried to contain her temper, furious that her night ahead was surely ruined. "Sorry about that," she sighed, looking up at Scorpius with a dejected sigh after Harvey had ambled back down the stairs.

"It's fine. You were perfect, but I'll admit, I can't think of a single reason you'd want to date that man."

Lily chuckled darkly. "I'm beginning to realize that," she agreed softly, and looked down, biting her lip indecisively, unsure if she actually wanted to ask him to come inside and spend the night with her yet again.

"Are we going inside?" Scorpius murmured, and Lily looked up when she felt his hands, rough and strong, cupping her face tenderly, tilting her chin up.

The redhead smiled slowly, hands roving across his shoulders before her left hand descended beneath the neck of his tee, her right sliding up into his soft blond hair. Scorpius grinned, then bent enough to kiss her gently. "Let's go inside," she breathed after he broke away several long moments later. Lily was panting and groaning her need for him, feeling his arousal and wanting the tall sexy blond she'd met entirely by accident more than ever.

"About time," he said, and five minutes later, when they'd stripped and managed to find her bed, and Scorpius had buried himself in her sweet, hot pussy, Lily had forgotten entirely the unsettling interludes with her ex. She was simply lost in the euphoria of being together, the same as her blond haired lover, and Lily may have even forgotten her own name by the time morning came.

Lily headed into work the next morning, after bidding a very sexy and thoroughly nonverbal goodbye to Scorpius, feeling entirely over her recent relationship drama. In fact, she felt utterly buoyant, and quite sated. Hell, she might even be downright _chipper_. _Note to self, abundance of orgasms administered by a sexy blond hunk will make your face hurt from smiling too much_. But Lily couldn't stop smiling, all through the day, and wondered just when she was going to see Scorpius Malfoy again.

Two hours later, the redhead glanced up from her ledger, sure her eyes were going to cross with the sea of numbers that were making a headache form at the back of her skull, at the brisk knock on her office door. When she spotted who the intruder on her bookkeeping was, she almost choked. Mrs. Harvey Denton Williams II, the fiercely intimidating woman who Lily had thought would one day be her mother in law stood in her doorway, dressed in a flawlessly tailored, and utterly expensive, Chanel suit, her Louis Vuitton handbag nestled into the crook of her elbow, her Jimmy Choos tapping impatiently on the laminate wood floor. "Holy shit," she breathed, wondered why on earth Harvey's mother was coming to visit her.

The woman, who Lily was positive had never much liked her, smiled tightly. "Hello, Lily. Shall I assume that was meant as an invitation to enter?" she asked haughtily, sweeping into the room and perching herself on the edge of the chair across from Lily's desk.

It hadn't been, at all, but the redhead nodded blankly. "Uh," she said, trying to be polite despite her massive amounts of confusion and surprise. "No offence, Mrs. Williams, but why are you-?"

"Here?" the dark haired, blue eyed woman drawled, and smiled tightly again. "To discuss the recent events concerning you and my son." Lily's brows shot up, because that sounded like Harvey had gone crying to Mommy about his breakup, and in turn, Mommy had come to save the day. Though how she thought she could fix things for Harvey, Lily wasn't sure.

"Recent events," Lily repeated slowly.

"Yes," Cordelia Williams said and forced another smile. "It has come to my attention that you and my son are no longer together."

Lily nodded. "Correct," she said when the woman merely looked at her.

"It has also come to my attention that my darling Harvey was, shall we say, straying from his commitment to you."

Lily's brows lifted. "Correct," she said again, wondering what this woman was getting at.

"And that you in turn were unfaithful to him."

Lily's temper flared at that. "Yes," she said, face stony. "Though I'd like to point out it was a single event, as opposed to your son, who had been 'straying from his commitment to me' for months previous to our breaking up."

Cordelia Williams forced a smile that didn't reach her cold, calculating blue eyes. "Duly noted, Lily," she said with remarkable condescension. "There's no need to be defensive, dear, it makes you seem like you don't regret your actions."

Lily grit her teeth. "I don't," she said, and watched the other woman's dark, well manicured brows lift. "So why are you really here, Mrs. Williams? What do you want?"

"Harvey made a mistake," she said. "He's too sweet, oftentimes for his own good, but I am here to remedy this whole unfortunate scenario. I've persuaded my son to see reason and end his silly affair with the little waitress, and he's fully on board with working through the issues that no doubt have arisen between the two of you." Lily frowned, because surely she wasn't saying she was making Harvey try to get her back.

"You shouldn't have wasted your time," the redhead said coolly. "I have no desire to date your son again, Mrs. Williams."

The other woman smiled, looking smug. "Of course not. Harvey isn't a stupid man, Lily. You'd be his fiancee, of course, not merely his girlfriend." Lily couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. _This bitch is fucking insane_!

"Yeah right," she gasped through her laughter as the other woman, mouth pursing slightly, regarded her coldly.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked haughtily after Lily's giggles had subsided.

"Do you really think I'm going to take back the scumbag who cheated on me for two months when he can't even propose to me himself, and sends his mother to _inform_ me?" She snorted, leaning back in her office chair. "Again, I'd like to say yeah right. Yeah fucking right."

Mrs. Williams smirked. "Lily, you are failing to see reason." Lily waited to hear her ex's mother explain more of her 'reason'. "Of course my son would propose to you in earnest, and I'm sure he'll buy you whichever engagement ring you like from Tiffany's and take you to whatever setting you'd find most romantic for it," she said dismissively, waving a jewelled hand. "And all you've got to do is apologize for breaking his heart."

Lily choked. "Me apologize?" she snarled, temper flaring dangerously now.

"You cheated on him, Lily. He was, _is_ , heartbroken." Lily imagined it was only when his formidable mother told him to be that Harvey felt anything remotely close to heartbreak. "But Harvey is willing to look past that if you are in return."

Lily shook her head. "You're wasting your time," she said firmly, privately thinking Harvey and his mother might be stupid and crazy if they thought for a second she was going to get back together with her douchebag ex. "It's a definite no."

Cordelia narrowed her eyes. "Because you're being difficult, or because you've already moved on?" she asked frostily.

"Both," Lily snapped. "Goodbye, Mrs. Williams," she added crisply.

The woman rose, sniffing. "You're a fool, Lily. Harvey is a good man, and he loves you, and he would offer the sort of security any girl would kill for, and yet you have the nerve to simply say no? I always knew you weren't good enough for my son."

Lily shot to her feet as the other woman turned away, stomping to the door. "You're the only fool here, _Cordelia_ , because that coward couldn't even dump me and spent two straight months cheating on me with a nineteen year old waitress. He doesn't love me, and I'm not dumb enough to believe it even if he came here himself instead of sending his Mommy to do his dirty work for him. If that makes me not good enough, then I'll be fucking horrible for him."

Mrs. Williams cast her a disdainful look. "If you think for an instant a wealthy, socially adept husband isn't going to have his mistresses, Lily, you're a naive little fool."

The redhead glared, lip curling. "If you're content with a man who'd rather fuck a teenager than you, for something like money and security, then you're a pitiable fool," she snapped back, but Mrs. Williams merely swept out of her office, leaving a frustrated and offended Lily with her bookkeeping once more.

XXX


	8. Chapter 8

XXX

A few days later, Lily was just getting home from a long, exhausting day, teaching four classes, and taking her workshop for her upcoming meditation class that would be starting in the fall. Which, despite being a workshop on teaching meditation, Lily didn't find at all relaxing. Now all she wanted was a long hot bath, a couple glasses of the Chardonnay in her fridge, and her bed. Instead, when she got up the stairs to her apartment, she laid eyes on a tall, well built male form that she'd come to know quite intimately. He was clad in a fitted black tee that showed off broad shoulders and muscled chest chest and hid what she knew were washboard abs, and black cargo pants that were tucked into sturdy black boots and suspended by a thick, heavy belt that had too many little pouches and attachments to be anything but a military relic. Her mouth lifted into a smile of its own accord, because it was the second night in a row she'd come home to find Scorpius Malfoy waiting for her. And last night was probably contributing to her current exhaustion.

"Hi," she said, moving toward him, and grinned up at him when he hauled her close and bent to kiss her thoroughly, making her heart rate kick up and her nipples go hard in her sports bra as his tongue teased the seam of her lips.

"You look tired," he said, finally pulling back.

"It's all your fault," she said, even as she disentangled herself enough to unlock her door. She frowned, because unless she was mistaken, it was already unlocked, and she was almost positive she'd locked the door knob as per usual that morning before going to the studio.

"What is it?" Scorpius asked, even as Lily reached for her door handle and turned it, frowning some more.

"I'm almost sure I locked my door this morning," she mumbled. She made to open the door, but Scorpius stopped her with a hand on her arm, his instincts taking over.

"And it's not locked now?" Scorpius asked. When Lily met his dark grey eyes, they were storming under his blond brows that had pulled together.

"No," she said. "But maybe I just forgot, or-"

Scorpius's eye twitched a little at that. "Please don't say things like that out loud," he muttered, even as a very large part of him tried to smother the urge to lecture her about safety. She snorted.

"Save the lecture, Scor, I'm a big girl. And come on, I know all my neighbours. If anything, it was probably Mr. Kim from 4B. He has my spare key and sometimes helps himself to the contents of my fridge."

Lily made to open to door again, even as Scorpius felt something like shock choking him, rooting him to the spot. _She just left her spare key with the neighbour across the hall, who apparently liked to just let himself in and out of her apartment when she wasn't home? Fucking Christ!_ It went against everything he'd ever learned in the military and since coming back and building his security firm, that did. "What?" he croaked.

Lily laughed. "Yeah. It's cool, because he always feeds me when he makes stuff he knows I like." She pushed into her apartment and Scorpius, who'd shaken off his shock at the lax security, followed right behind her. The redhead stopped dead only four steps into her living room, looking around, knowing immediately it wasn't Mr. Kim who'd been in her flat.

"Whoa," Scorpius said from behind her. There were clothes spilling out of the bedroom, the kitchen looked as if every drawer and cupboard had been raided, and her living room was looking like a small, contained tornado had struck it. The lamp on the side table had been knocked over, along with her potted plant, spilling dirt and greenery all over the carpet, and her book shelves were a mess, half the books and knick knacks from it now on the floor.

"That fucker!" she snarled, dropping her large tote and stomping toward the hallway. Scorpius hurried after her, to the second bedroom across from the bathroom, where the medicine cabinet had been emptied onto her vanity and sink. Scorpius looked over Lily's shoulder at the strips of colourful fabric that looked like they'd been, purposely, shorn up all over the room. "Oh, he is _so_ going to pay for this!" Lily hissed, and Scorpius could feel the rage emanating from her.

"Who?" he asked, already guessing the answer.

"Harvey!" she snarled, and stomped her foot. "That fucker! He said he'd come get his stuff, but this is just fucking unnecessary!" she growled. "These are my best mats! Or _were_ anyway! That fuckwad!"

"You knew your ex would come by?" Scorpius asked, wondering why she'd trusted the man who'd cheated on her after five years, to possibly not trash her apartment. From everything he'd heard, the guy was a douchebag extraordinaire, and Scorpius wouldn't put it past him to ruin Lily's belongings to spite her after a messy breakup.

"I left his shit in a box outside my door," she said, sighing, pushing a hand through her hair, shoulders slumping. "He texted me yesterday and said he'd drop by around two today, but I can't just cancel my classes to babysit that idiot getting his shit." She started picking up the strips of fabric from her destroyed yoga mats, making a tight fist around a few sections of a purple one. "And I paid full price for this mat," she growled. "Full fucking price! And that idiot doesn't even get it, that this was my _favourite mat_ , and I paid way too much money for it, because it's a limited edition colour, for the anniversary sale, and I am going to _kill that motherfucker_!"

She whipped the handful of yoga mat back on the ground and sucked in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Lily," Scorpius said softly, still standing in the bedroom doorway, and the redhead shook her head.

"It's not your fault," she grumbled. "Ugh, that just tops off my fucking day, though!" she growled. "Sorry," she sighed. "You should probably go. I've got a shit load of cleaning and reorganizing to do, and I'm in a pissy mood," she said.

Scorpius tilted his head a little, because he didn't much want to go. He'd been thinking of Lily all day, non-stop, like he had from the moment he'd first been assaulted by her, and been looking forward to seeing her again, and even more to taking her out that evening. "Would you like help with this?" he asked, gesturing vaguely to the disarray that was her flat.

Lily snorted. "Not really. I want to drink wine and soak in the tub and go to sleep, after beating the crap out of Harvey," she admitted. "And it's not fair to subject you to my frustration, because you're not at fault."

Scorpius smirked a tiny bit, because that was sweet, and he rather liked watching Lily get riled up. She was one of the few women who looked good angry. All flashing hazel eyes and snarling words, her beastly mane of dark red hair almost crackling with her rage, chest heaving as she tried to hold onto her temper. It was kind of a turn on. _Which might make me a sucker for punishment_. "I have a better idea," he said, and reached for her hand.

"What?" she asked, following his lead even as he lead her back down the hall and to her living room again.

"You come with me, and vent that anger into something other than cursing your bastard of an ex." Lily frowned.

"Scorpius, I have to clean this shit up, I can't-"

"Come on," the blond said, leading her to the door. He frowned. "Does that fucker have your key still?" he asked. Lily shrugged.

"I told him yesterday to leave it under the mat." Scorpius checked, but there was no key.

"In that case, you're getting your locks changed," he said, pulling out his phone. Lily scowled.

"In case it escaped your notice, Scorpius," Lily said, looking pissy again, "this is literally none of your business. I don't need my locks changed, the fucker already made his point."

Grey eyes rolled. "Humour me," he said, pulling up a name from his contacts and putting his phone to his ear. "Your ex, who might just be a little crazy if this is what he did for no good reason, has a key to your apartment. You need your locks changed." He smirked a tiny bit. "Or to invest in a German Shepherd."

"Who are you even calling?" she snapped, folding her arms.

"A friend of mine," he said evasively. "Ricky, put Dozer on the phone," he said after someone obviously picked up. "Who do you think it is?" Scorpius asked. There was a pause. "Ricky, I'm not playing twenty questions with you. This is serious." There was another pause, and then Scorpius sent Lily a sideways half smile that effectively sapped her anger, making her feel a flutter of delight he was so adamant she have it so Harvey couldn't get back in again, even though she was pretty sure the sexy blond was being paranoid. His obvious concern, on top of the ridiculously too nice gesture to help her tidy up her ex's mess, made Lily feel oddly protected, and cared for, more so than she had any right to feel for a man she'd barely known a week. "Dozer," Scorpius said at last, and Lily wondered who the hell he could be talking to. "Of course," the blond said easily, smiling a little. "Never better in fact," he said, glancing at Lily again. "I need you to come by and do a change out on some locks for me."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Scorpius, really, I don't-" she began, but the blond merely turned away from her.

"No, not my place. Eleven seventy one Wisteria Ave. Unit 4A," Scorpius said, and Lily scowled, because she didn't like people knowing her address, or having it listed anywhere. "I would call it in normally, but it's for a personal acquaintance."

"Scorpius," Lily said, frustration revving up once more, that he was ignoring her, and her requests, and telling people her address. And, if she was honest, she was little offended by that 'personal acquaintance' remark. She wasn't desperate for a new man, but she would have at least said friend, not 'acquaintance' in regard to what she and Scorpius had.

"Yeah, you'll have open access. But make sure you lock it up tight for me, Dozer," Scorpius said, still ignoring her, and Lily tapped her foot impatiently. "Bring the new keys to Carlos, and you'll probably find me there. If not, drop them at my place." There was another pause. "I'm not answering that," Scorpius said, frowning a tiny bit, and glanced at Lily again. "Thanks, Dozer."

"Are you quite finished now?" Lily asked acidly when he'd put his phone away.

"Yes," Scorpius said easily, and smirked, then moved toward her, unfolding her angrily crossed arms. "And trust me, I'll sleep a helluva lot better at night knowing you'll actually have a decent lock on your door that your asshole ex can't get past."

Lily pouted, but still felt touched he'd obviously gone out of his way to do something for her. "Fine," she grumbled. "But I better get a spare key for Mr. Kim," she said firmly. "Because I like homemade kimchi and Haejangguk."

"Done," Scorpius replied, and smirked. "Now do you want to get changed before we go?"

Lily frowned, even as she leaned into Scorpius's chest, sighing at his solid warmth. "Go where?" she demanded, pulling back to look at him.

"To vent all your frustrations before you even bother cleaning this mess up," he said succinctly.

Lily looked taken aback. "I don't need to vent anything!" she snapped. "I'm perfectly fine, just a little irritated that my whole goddamn apartment is turned upside fucking down, but I can clean up perfectly damn well without-!"

"Then why are you shouting at me, Lily?" Scorpius cut in lightly, and the redhead paused in her tirade. "Come on, you'll feel better after. I promise."

Scorpius extended his hand for her to take, and Lily hesitated, then threw caution to the wind. She wasn't looking for a new man, but if Scorpius wanted to be hers, she wasn't going to flat out say no. So she took his hand and let him lead her out her front door, that she locked up on purpose, even as Scorpius smirked a tiny bit, then followed him downstairs and to his car, parked in the visitors section. She climbed in and did up her seat belt, and then they were off to wherever Scorpius thought it would be best to vent her frustrations.

Lily looked at him, trying to figure out what it would be. She knew he was ex-military, and for a moment she wondered if he thought she was going to have the energy to kick box or something else physical, because she didn't have remotely enough pep left in her step after a long day, let alone the stamina for such exercise. Ten minutes later, as she rifled through other various idea Scorpius might have, telling herself as they pulled into the parking lot of a long, single story building that almost looked like a warehouse, she probably wasn't in for a massage. "Where are we?" she finally asked when Scorpius had parked and turned off the car.

"We're going to visit a very good friend of mine. Carlos," he said. Lily rolled her eyes, because she'd surmised that from his vague phone conversation. "And you're going to find an outlet for the anger you've got bottled up."

Lily's brows lifted at that. "Who says I've got-?"

"Me," Scorpius interrupted. He opened his car door, then glanced at her, leaned in, and kissed her briefly, but possessively, on the mouth. "Come on, Lily," he said. "You can trust me."

The redhead blushed, because, although she'd barely known him a week, she was finding she could trust him. That he would look out for her, and maybe even look after her. "Fine," she said grudgingly, making Scorpius grin, and she exited through the passenger door and walked beside her blond haired lover toward whatever surprise he had in store for them.

They walked into what looked like almost a convenience store, only with no merchandise, except for things that Lily had a sneaking suspicion were gun accessories and various other defence and mild attack items. Her stomach churned with anxiety, because if Scorpius thought for one second she was going to shoot a gun, he was dead fucking wrong.

"Carlos," Scorpius said, and Lily looked, for the first time, at the guy behind the counter. Wearing a black vest over an army green shirt, he was tanned, Latino, and handsome, especially when his somewhat somber expression brightened into a wide smile as he looked up at Scorpius. Then his dark, sharp eyes moved immediately to her, standing beside the tall, sexy blond man. Lily smiled weakly back.

"Capitán," Carlos said, taking a step as if to come around the side of his little counter thing before Scorpius intercepted him, doing the hand grab, back clap thing straight men did when they were close and greeted one another. "You have not been here in some time, my friend," he said looking back at Scorpius.

"I've been busy," he said, and Lily's gaze flicked sideways to see him smirking with smug satisfaction.

"Hi, I'm Lily," the redhead said boldly, sticking her hand out and Carlos lifted his dark brows a little, but smiled charmingly and shook her hand firmly. "How do you know Scorpius?"

"Carlos was Special Forces with me," Scorpius supplied.

"I owe him a life debt," Carlos added, and came around the little counter properly at last and stepped back a little awkwardly. And Lily saw he'd had most of his left leg, to mid thigh, amputated. Her mouth parted, and she looked at Scorpius, then back into Carlos's dark gaze. "I lost my leg, but the Capitán is the reason I have my life." He tilted his head a little as he regarded her. "How do you know Capitán?" he returned.

Lily grinned a tiny bit and Scorpius cleared his throat. "Lily is…" He paused and the redhead lifted her brows at his hestiance, even as Carlos's dark eyes glittered with amusement.

"Sleeping with him," Lily finally supplied, and Carlos chuckled, even as Scorpius shot him a dirty look, neck going red with chagrin. "Anyway, while we're here, I'm assuming this is some kind of gun shooting type place, right?" Lily pushed, feeling her confidence returning. She looked at Scorpius, then at Carlos, and the latter nodded. "Yeah, that's not really my thing." She glanced pointedly at Scorpius, "And I'm definitely not shooting anything."

"Sure you are," Scorpius said, then looked at Carlos. "You think the Beretta?" he asked, completely dismissing what she'd just said, and the dark haired, dark eyed Latino narrowed his gaze on Lily appraisingly.

"She might be able to handle yours," he said fairly. Scorpius snorted, but Carlos shrugged. "You want the Beretta anyway?"

"Yeah," Scorpius said, and Lily watched in mingled apprehension and consternation, as both men pulled out guns, Carlos from behind the counter in the locked cases, and Scorpius from the holster he carried at the small of his back.

"I really don't think-" she began as Scorpius picked up the smaller handgun and looked it over, accepting several rounds as Carlos passed them and loading the weapon with the ease of familiarity.

"Come on, Lily," he teased. The redhead merely stared in mute horror. He was holding a gun. A fully loaded _gun_ with _bullets_ that was capable of _shooting things_. Terror rendered her immobile. Then she watched Scorpius reach over and pick up his own gun off the counter. "Pick them up, hold them, and tell me which one feels less terrifying," he instructed, holding both weapons out after flipping them butt out toward her.

Lily shook her head wordlessly for a long moment. "I can't," she finally said when Scorpius merely continued to hold the weapons out. Her hands wouldn't move if she tried, she was certain, and they definitely wouldn't be able to _hold_ them.

"Sure you can," he said easily. "Just pick them up. Hold them. You don't have to do anything other than that." Lily shook her head again, even as she stared at the guns Scorpius was holding out. One silver, with a smaller build, the other black, and hugely sturdy looking. She licked her lips, then looked up into Scorpius's eyes, wanting to trust him, fearing the worst.

"I literally don't think my hands work," she whispered and gulped.

Scorpius moved into her personal bubble, lowering his head to nose along the line of her jaw softly. "I know you can do it, Lily," he said softly, right against her ear, only for her hearing. "Just last night, you grabbed my gun and put it on the nightstand, and told me not to fucking forget I was wearing it again, all while you rode my dick."

"That's kind of completely not the same-" she mumbled, blushing profusely.

"It's kind of completely the exact same thing." She felt him smile against her neck, her pulse fluttering as he kissed her, whisper soft. "You were pissed, and you just _did_ it, you weren't playing it up in your head like it's some monumental feat." The redhead frowned a bit at that, because that just sounded like she was being over dramatic and kind of silly when he said it like that. "Do it again," Scorpius rumbled into her ear, and although she felt her nipples ache pleasurably at the rough, commanding tone, she couldn't help but melt a little, unable to help but relax as she got turned on, and told herself she was being silly. Why _couldn't_ she pick up two stupid guns? She wasn't going to accidentally shoot them, she was just going to hold them. That was it. _Nothing to be afraid of!_

She pulled back, reached for both of the firearms, and grasped them both. Scorpius's gun felt distinctly heavier, and the grip felt much too large for her hand, but the little silver gun, the Beretta, felt light enough she didn't risk wrist injury when lifting it, and the grip was comfortably sized, the girth quite nice, and the handle felt strangely fitted for her palm.

"Now which one feels less terrifying?" Scorpius asked, smirking, and Lily held up the silver one, carefully handing his own gun back to him. She set the silver gun down on the counter.

"Well, that was fun. All done," she said, and Carlos chuckled, even as Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Should I call Maria to scare her into it?" he teased.

"Lily," the tall, sexy blond said firmly, and she looked up at him, her hazel gaze daring him to find a reason she should want any more contact with that oddly comfortable gun.

"What?" she asked, hands on hips, staring back. Scorpius smiled slowly.

"You paid full price for that limited edition yoga mat." He could practically feel Lily's instant outrage roaring back to life, and she sucked in a deep breath, eyes narrowing.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "I did."

The blond leaned closer to her. "Now tell me the thought of that bastard cutting it up doesn't make you want to put a bunch of bullets in something," he murmured.

And although Lily kind of hated him for it, she kind of really fucking _did_ want to just blast the shit out of some paper target, because she was fucking _mad_ damnit! But there was still a hefty amount of fear, fear that tempered her anger a little, attached to that shiny silver gun lying benignly on the counter.

The redhead had always considered herself kind of a hippy, very open and accepting of others, and also strongly against violence of any sort. And now Scorpius wanted her to pick up a gun and shoot it, and she couldn't form any words against why she shouldn't, because there would be no harm to it, and she would probably feel better after, and part of her _wanted to_ , if only just to see. Lily shook her head slowly, trying to come to terms with what she truly felt, and the obvious shift in who she'd always thought herself to be.

"You don't have to," Scorpius said easily, pulling her close and kissing her gently, and she blushed, because Carlos was right there. "But I'm willing to bet if you try, you'll find you like it."

Lily licked her lips and then looked at him calculatingly. "If I do, you have to let me teach you yoga," she said in response after a beat, and Scorpius smirked. "And not the fun kind. The freaky circus flexible kind that's going to make your muscles hurt in places you didn't even know you could hurt," she said, smiling. He instantly stopped smirking, but Carlos chuckled again.

"Perhaps you have met your match, Capitán?" the Latino man drawled, and Scorpius shot him a dark look. Carlos, who Scorpius supposed constituted his second best friend from military life, and especially his wife Maria, had been suggesting and nattering away at him for years to find a nice young lady to tie him down once and for all. And while Scorpius didn't mind at all the notion of finding a woman to share his life with, and maybe have a family, he had yet to find any viable candidates. _At least not until_ \- He stopped himself before he could even think it, refusing to accept the thought. Instead he focused on the lithe redhead who stared expectantly at him, and her terms.

"Agreed," he said, because while he doubted he'd like yoga after Lily finished bending him into a pretzel, he knew he'd more than like watching Lily shooting a gun. She was a helluva woman, in every sense, and he didn't doubt she'd feel better afterward. And he had his own twisted perversions that had found the sight of Lily holding his gun, the firearm he wore damn near everywhere, not only a distinct turn on, but probably one of the sexiest things he'd ever seen.

Lily's brows lifted, but she gulped and nodded, then stuck out her hand. Scorpius shook it, then jerked her forward, kissing her and making her blush adorably. "Fine, let's do this," she said after he pulled back, sighing and looking with unease at the Beretta once more. Scorpius almost rolled his eyes again.

"You can pick it up, Lily," he said, and watched her bite her lower lip. "You can't shoot it if you don't pick it up."

"Fine," she grumbled, and reached out for the gun, hand not trembling, and picked up the firearm with admirable courage, holding it slightly away from herself, pointing it at the ground. "But if I accidentally shoot myself, I'm going to sue the pants off the both of you," she hissed to Scorpius, and glanced over at Carlos, who smirked a tiny bit.

"Duly noted," Scorpius said, and smiled, picking up his own gun, and they started forward to what looked like a little cubicle. When they stepped in, however, Lily could see the long range of the targets, and there was a little control panel that, she assumed, moved the target closer and further away. The tall blond passed Lily a pair of ear coverings, slinging his own pair around his neck. Lily copied him, feeling nervous, the gun heavy in her now sweaty palm, and yet still an oddly reassuring and comfortable weight to grip, knees almost knocking with nerves. Scorpius looked at her, put his own gun away and pulled her close, tilting her head up with a hand on her jaw, fingers just tangling in her hair, and kissed her.

XXX


	9. Chapter 9

XXX

Lily sighed into the kiss and melted against Scorpius, because it was hot, and soft, and now that there wasn't an audience she felt no shame in reciprocating the kiss, nipping softly at Scorpius's full lower lip, tongue smoothing over the sting, and he groaned, pulling her impossibly closer. "You can't distract me with kisses like that," Scorpius rumbled, pulling back when her tongue teased his and she suckled the hot muscle as it plunged into her mouth, loving his instant reaction.

"Why not?" she breathed. Making out was a _much_ better alternative to being pissed or shooting the gun she still held.

"You're distracting me," he said, and smirked. "And I can't very well fuck you right here, unless you're alright with anybody who looks seeing and everyone too chicken shit to look hearing you screaming my name."

"I can be quiet!" Lily hissed, looking grumpy again, and Scorpius was equally amused and frustrated that she was being so evasive.

"No you can't, honey," he rumbled. "You try, but all those sighs and grunts turn into moans by the time you start coming."

The redhead blushed, and hard, but figured he was probably right. When it came to getting laid, if Lily was enjoying it, she was hard pressed to hold it in. "Fine," she said grumpily, for a third time, and Scorpius smirked. He was rapidly learning that when Lily said the word fine, she was usually anything but. And Scorpius was rather looking forward to having her mean it when she said she was fine, even as he told himself firmly not to get attached.

Lily was fun, and a great lay, and he found himself genuinely liking her, despite the fact his oldest friend _still_ hadn't spoken to him since he'd last seen him and told him he was a shit friend for being upset that Scorpius wanted to see Lily in the first place. But he couldn't get attached to her. He simply couldn't afford for it to not work out with the feisty redhead and lose Albus as his friend in the process. So Scorpius told himself sternly there was no chance Lily could ever be that woman he'd imagined for his someday down the road, period.

"Are you ready?" Scorpius asked, stepping back, forcing himself to block out the tempting sight Lily made in her pink sports bra, barely covered by the sheer white tank top she'd put over it, and her little black leggings that hugged her lower half to perfection.

"Mostly," Lily said, and took a deep breath, blew it out, and lifted the gun. "Okay, now I'm ready," she said, and Scorpius wanted to laugh. She had her eyes squished closed, her mouth set, and her shoulders far too tense, gripping the little gun with white knuckles.

"Not even close," he said, and steered her toward the range to face outward properly, moving behind her. "First of all, you need to relax, honey," he murmured, his tone soft and soothing against her ear, making a tiny bit of the tension melt out of Lily's shoulders. "Relax completely, and trust that you're going to be fine doing this."

"Okay," Lily breathed, and tried to relax, but she couldn't help it. She was nervous. Scorpius's hands moved around her hips and she leaned back against his solid warmth as he pressed her to himself.

"You're still not relaxing, Lily," he murmured, kissing the side of her neck. Lily sighed, trying to force her tense, nervous muscles to relax, focusing on the soft feeling of Scorpius's lips against her neck as she tilted her head to allow him better access. "Better," Scorpius murmured, palms moving to glide down her arms and covering her hands. "Now, first things first," he said, lifting the little silver Beretta from her grasp, smirking a little, because her palms were far too sweaty. "Having the correct grip."

He placed her hands on the silver firearm correctly, her right gripping the handle, index finger resting over the trigger loop, left hand braced under the butt of the pistol and her other wrist. "Why do I need two hands?" she asked, because people in movies never used two unless they were playing SWAT teams.

"Because you're a beginner, and I didn't think you wanted to sprain your wrist or worse after the first shot." Lily frowned over her shoulder at him, but Scorpius merely turned her chin to face forward again. "No pouting at me, honey," he rumbled, and she felt her nipples go hard as his hands dragged back up her arms and down her sides. "I'm merely stating the facts." She pouted a little still, and Scorpius kissed her neck. "Still ready?" he murmured teasingly.

"Just show me how to use this, before I sprain my wrist and point it at you," she snarked back. Scorpius chuckled, but showed her how to take the safety off, aim, and fire, and after an hour, the redhead had expended a dozen rounds into a paper target, gotten a charlie horse in her hand from gripping the damn gun too tight, and found the most satisfying and effective outlet for anger she could've ever imagined.

Lily was still riding her adrenaline high, her face permanently set into a wide smile she was sure, when they at last made their way back to the front counter to return the Beretta to Carlos. "I think I might need to start coming here on the regular," Lily said, her left hand wrapped firmly around Scorpius's right, carrying the rolled up targets she'd hit in the other, Scorpius holding onto her borrowed weapon as they made their way to the counter.

Scorpius smirked a little, knowing already Lily would definitely be back, and feeling a bizarre sense of smug accomplishment that he'd lead Lily to the past time of shooting. And there was a frisson of something deeper and much more significant, something that made him feel as if she'd just accepted a large portion of himself, and who he was, by facing her fear then overcoming it and shooting a gun with him. And then he saw the familiar massive form of his right hand man and the one person he trusted above all others, leaning against the counter, talking to Carlos, and Scorpius watched Dozer straighten and then turn to face them as they approached.

"Dozer," he said, and nodded, and Lily looked up at a dark skinned black man who had to be seven feet tall, at least, and close to four hundred pounds. And even though she hated it, she felt herself shrinking closer to Scorpius, who looked puny in comparison to this man despite his own significant size, because he had a mean looking face, and dark eyes that looked flat black, and he was utterly terrifying.

Lily almost laughed when he nodded back to Scorpius and said in a very soft voice, low and with a distinct southern drawl, "Evening, Captain."

"You have the keys?" Scorpius asked, and Dozer pulled the set from his pocket. Lily almost fainted when he glanced at her again, then told herself firmly to stop being silly. "Excellent. Thanks again, Dozer," Scorpius said, putting the gun on the counter to accept the keys.

Hazel eyes bulged as Lily realized this was the man who'd changed her locks, and she blanched, because what if Mr. Kim or one of her other neighbours had seen him!? "You must be that personal acquaintance," Dozer said, and extended his enormous hand toward her.

"Lily," the redhead squeaked, releasing Scorpius, shuffling her targets, and putting her hand bravely in his, surprised that he was gentler than even the tall, sexy blond standing beside her. And then she did laugh, just a little, because if she had to guess, this Dozer man was probably a gentle giant, and if she had to put money on it, she'd bet he'd have her back as surely as Scorpius would, which Lily was starting to realize was pretty much always.

"Pleased to meet you, Miz Lily," he said, and smiled, and Lily watched his whole face transform from scary to boyishly adorable, evaporating her terror upon first sight.

"Oh no, it's just Lily," she said, a little flattered with his obvious manners. "But it's nice to meet you too."

"Best of luck with that," Scorpius murmured. "Thanks, Carlos," Scorpius added as the Latino man had easily and efficiently taken the gun apart and began cleaning it before returning it to its lockbox.

"No es nada, Capitán. Ella es buena para ti, creo, tu pequeño rojo." Scorpius frowned, and Dozer looked amused. "Or perhaps better than good, Capitán?"

"None of your business," Scorpius said flatly, and Lily, who had a feeling they were talking about her, merely reached for Scorpius's hand again, and thought again about her recent experience. It had been, admittedly, a little scary at first, but now she was half tempted to ask to go again, right then, even though it must surely be getting late, and she was starving. The burst of adrenaline, the jolting kickback after she fired, the sharp scent of expended rounds tickling her nose, and, most of all, the comforting, secure feeling of Scorpius's solid warmth behind her, pressed to her. It was kind of addicting, to be honest, and that was surprising, considering she'd never once, in a million years, thought before right then she'd have actually been able to even pull the trigger on a gun, let alone actually aim it and take pleasure in the act of firing a weapon. _Though that might have been because picturing Harvey's stupid face made it that much easier_.

"Are we going?" she finally asked, knowing she had to, at some point, return to her flat to at least attempt putting things right before she crawled into bed and slept as long as possible.

"Yes," Scorpius said, and nodded once again to his friends and colleagues.

"Thanks," Lily said to the two men, and waved her little souvenir paper target. Carlos smiled.

"Come back soon," he said.

"Goodbye, Miz Lily," Dozer said, inclining his head to her as well, and then Scorpius was tugging her hand gently and lead the way out, back toward his very nice car.

"How do you know Dozer?" Lily asked as they buckled up and Scorpius started up the engine.

"He was my bunk mate in basic training," the blond said, smiling a little, recalling those first days where he'd struggled to come to terms with the enormity of his decision to join the army in the first place. "He actually asked to switch me, because he was supposed to get top bunk, and I wasn't exactly keen on the idea of being crushed when the damn bunk buckled under him, so I said sure."

Lily chuckled a little at that. "So you've known him your whole army career?"

Scorpius shook his head. "No. After my second tour…" Lily watched his expression darken a little. "Dozer got reassigned, and I took a longer leave." The blond pointedly didn't mention his lack of choice in the matter. "But when I came back, and took my Special Forces training, Dozer was selected with me."

Lily looked at him for a moment, then said, very softly, just like when she'd asked if he missed the army, "You're close to them especially. Your Special Forces guys. Is that because of what you guys had to do?"

The blond balked for a second, then reined in his emotions, the vulnerability that question revealed, because it would be obvious to an outsider that his only friends, with the exception of Albus, were indeed all in the Special Forces unit he'd lead as Captain. "Sort of," he finally admitted. "They understand," he said. Dozer most of all, he reckoned. Being part of a war, no matter how small or indirectly, affected a person, and when you saw the most horrible of things, they undoubtedly left their marks upon you. Scorpius knew this first hand. He'd seen and done things he was disgusted by, and yet, the men he'd served with knew, and didn't loathe him for it, because their hands were just as dirty. They understood that nothing was fair in war, and to be victorious, a soldier had to sometimes be ruthless. And they all had their ways of atoning for it now.

Scorpius almost jumped when Lily put her hand atop his on the shifter, squeezing his hand ever so gently. "I'm glad you have them," she said lightly, and smiled, and then looked out the window, releasing him.

When Lily at last got back to her apartment, and unlocked the deadbolt with her shiny new key Scorpius provided, she was beyond exhausted. But, looking at the sturdy silver lock that seemed stronger than her actual door, and feeling something bizarrely like affection for the blond man who stood behind her, she felt a burst of something warm in her chest. "Are you coming in?" she asked, looking hopefully over her shoulder at him.

"Of course," Scorpius said, because he was picturing, again, for the tenth time since they'd left Carlos's shooting range in fact, Lily wielding a gun with frightening accuracy and confidence. And it was making him distinctly horny.

Lily opened her front door, a slow smile unfurling on her face, and turned round to face into her apartment stopping abruptly once inside. The mess she'd seen before was all completely tidied, her living room set to rights once more, even if her book case was put back in order wrong and her knick knacks weren't where she'd originally left them, and she was almost afraid to look at the rest of her apartment, that seemed reorganized but likely not at all to her preference. "I really hope your friend Dozer didn't clean up this place," she finally breathed, feeling embarrassed as she moved into her living room, then glanced at her once again orderly kitchen.

"No, that was probably Ricky, his husband," Scorpius said, hoping Lily wasn't mad the slightly pushy if not actually intimidating figure of Ricky had touched all her stuff and tried to put it all away without Lily present. Scorpius knew if he was in the redhead's shoes, he'd be furious though.

Lily looked round at him, then laughed. "Wait, wait, wait," she gasped after a moment. "You're telling me-?"

"Yes," Scorpius said, with his own smirk. If he hadn't met Ricky personally, he'd never believe it, but he had no qualms with his right hand business partner and blood brother being gay. And he had to admit, the other half to Dozer had done wonders for the almost entirely silent and distinctly shy man in the two years they'd been together.

"Wow. Actually," Lily said, going to her fridge, "I can sort of see it now." She looked around after fishing two beers from within her fridge and handed him one. "And I suppose he did alright, considering he doesn't live here and doesn't know me." Scorpius cracked his beer and sipped as Lily did the same. "And I suppose it's good a gay man tidied up my bedroom," she said, crossing her little flat to the bedroom, looking around at the room, then moving to her dresser, opening the topmost drawer. "Aw, what a sweetheart, he even folded my panties for me. You will thank them both for me, right?"

"Of course," Scorpius and then frowned a tiny bit at that, thankful himself Ricky was gayer than a handbag full of rainbows, because the thought of another straight man rummaging through Lily's undergarments made him want to shoot something.

Lily took a long pull off her beer, closed the drawer, then kicked off her shoes and peeled off her socks, padding barefoot into her bathroom. Scorpius watched as she set her drink down, pulled off her tank top, and felt himself getting hard when she began easing her sleek black leggings off, revealing a bright pink thong, the same fluorescent shade as her sports bra. He took a long drink, watching her. "You're staring," Lily accused, stepping out of her leggings before turning on the water in her shower and taking another long pull from her beer.

"You're getting undressed," he replied, voice lower and rougher than normal as his jeans got uncomfortably tight.

"I am," she said with a slow smile. "That's generally part of my pre-showering routine," she said, lifting a brow at him. "Are you coming with?"

Scorpius moved into the bathroom with her as the mirror began to fog from the heat of the shower, steam billowing, then took another swig of his own drink before setting it down beside hers and taking off his shirt. "You bet, honey." He snapped the left strap of her thong after she peeled off her sports bra. "You're forgetting these," he rumbled as she leaned into him, lifting onto her toes, clutching his broad shoulders, to kiss him.

"You still have pants on," she rumbled, and kissed him again, teasing her tongue along the seam of his lips, and he rewarded her with a sudden onslaught into her own mouth, loving the way she clutched him, tongue gliding hot and eagerly over his. "Take your fucking pants off," she breathed against his own gasping mouth. Scorpius chuckled, but undid his pants and belt, letting them drop to the floor. "And the gun," she insisted, although Scorpius opted to leave it readily accessible on the back of the toilet as opposed to the floor with his pants and boxer briefs.

By the time he was entirely naked, she'd flicked her little pink thong off her hips, and stepped out of the garment as she pulled him down to kiss him again, and Scorpius didn't hesitate to simply lift her against himself, holding her hot, molten center against his erection, and stepped into the shower with her. Lily moaned at the heat of the shower and the feel of Scorpius, oh so close, sliding tempting and teasingly against her. "Fuck, I want you so bad," Scorpius rumbled, clutching her tighter, and she moaned. The blond watched her tilt her head back, into the spray of the shower, wetting her long glorious mane of hair, and then smiled radiantly at him, little drops of moisture clinging to her lashes, her hair falling in slick ribbons down her shoulders.

"I'm really hoping you have a condom, because mine are all the way in my bedroom, and I wasn't planning on-"

"No matter," Scorpius said, grinning wickedly at her, easing her slowly down his body until she could stand, then pressing her back into the wall. "I generally prefer to have you coming all over me before I fuck you." Lily couldn't resist the shiver of pure delight that had her arching and shuddering into the tall, sexy blond, her fingernails digging into his shoulder blades as he snogged her senseless, his hands cupping and moulding the soft flesh of her breasts.

The redhead squeaked when he pinched her nipples, and Scorpius broke the kiss, chuckling. "Don't laugh at me," Lily sighed, because the blond had started kissing down her neck, nibbling enticingly, making her wriggle her hips against his.

"I'm not laughing at you," Scorpius murmured, and nipped hard at the supple junction between neck and collarbone. "I'm simply amused by you sounding like every time is your first time," he added, and Lily blushed.

"Well stop being amused," she grumbled, and Scorpius moved back a tiny bit to kiss lower, down between her breasts.

"Mmm, does it help to also tell you I'm turned on, and you're really fucking sexy, and I'm going to love every second of making you scream my name?" he rumbled, and Lily gasped as his mouth closed around her nipple in the next breath, his teeth nipping hard enough to smart before he suckled the hardened nub of flesh hungrily.

"That's better," she managed to choke out between heated moans as his wicked tongue laved and ravished her breasts and nipples, and Lily let out a little squeal of delight when she finally felt him move lower still.

"Let's see if I can do better than that," Scorpius growled, finally sinking onto his knees, and Lily eagerly lifted a thigh around his shoulder as his wicked mouth brushed up her inner thigh. "I'm hoping for excellent, at least," he murmured, and Lily bit her lip around a moan as her fingers sank into blond hair as the words puffed, hot and steamy, over her slick, wet pussy.

"Fuck, you'll get it, Scorpius," she breathed, and a guttural moan rumbled from her throat as he pressed him mouth to her and her fingers knotted themselves in his luscious platinum locks. "Fuck _yes_ , you can have it all!" she added in a squeal as his very talented tongue swirled around her clitoris, two fingers teasing their way into her dripping quim.

"I'm going to hold you to that," he whispered roughly, even as he fingered her slow and deep, and Lily's eyes rolled back in her head with pleasure while he stared up at her, all heaving breasts and arching pelvis, hungry for more. "I want it all, Lily," he added, then suckled her clit, curling both fingers to scratch her g-spot teasingly, and watched her come unravelled for him, screaming his name to the heavens.

The next morning, Lily woke early, her mind clear and heart set, knowing now was the time, after the gross assault against her home Harvey had committed, to confront her ex. So with that end in mind, she slipped from bed, kissed a sleeping Scorpius for luck after washing her face, dressing, and brushing her teeth, and headed out. It only took a few minutes to get to Harvey's apartment complex, and even less time to get to his front door, and the redhead felt herself start to get mad when, after knocking politely, there was no response.

Lily pounded on the door she knew contained the man she'd once, like a naive little idiot, thought would be her future, half wishing she had Scorpius at her back. "Open the door, Harvey," she said, after listening with her ear pressed to the wood and hearing a creak the indicated her ex had just stepped away from the peephole, and the pounded with a fist on the door again. "Open up, I can hear you!" she growled furiously. "Goddamnit, Harvey-!" she half screamed, hearing him lean back to look through peephole, glaring through the tiny viewing portal at him.

But before Lily could properly tear into her ex-boyfriend right outside his apartment, a woman across the hall stepped out, looking pissed. "Look, lady," she snarled, making Lily flinch a tiny bit, "if you want to scream at your boyfriend, or whatever, go ahead, but if you start swearing, we're going to have a problem!" The redhead could only stare in shock. "I have a very talkative two year old who can definitely hear you, and if you teach him bad words, I can promise you, you'll regret it," she spat, and then went back into her apartment, slamming the door.

And then, to add to Lily's utter shock and confusion, Harvey's door opened at last, her ex standing there looking imperiously at her, arms folded. "I knew you'd come crawling back," the smug asshole said with superiority, and Lily's hazel eyes narrowed dangerously. "What do you need, Lily?"

The redhead bit back the urge to give a snarky retort, and forced a poisonously sweet smile. "Other than for you to walk off the nearest cliff?" she purred with saccharine softness, "Only for you to never _ever_ lay foot near my apartment again, you pathetic excuse for a man."

Harvey's smile slipped into a scowl. "I beg your pardon?" he growled, and Lily giggled condescendingly as her ex puffed up in defensive, offended outrage. In her defence, the redhead couldn't help herself, because the difference between Harvey and Scorpius was hilariously unfair, where her ex was left wanting in almost every category except pretentiousness.

"Oh Harvey, you absolute fool," she said, tone never rising despite her growing fury toward this inferior man who seemed desperate to keep her, despite her lack of interest, or active dislike of him. "You trashed my apartment, you jerk, and ruined half my belongings. I'm so beyond over and done with you, it's not even funny," she said coldly. "If you have a problem with that, too fucking bad," she added in a growl, not wanting the crazy mom-neighbour lady returning. "So I can promise you, if you ever come near me again, you _will_ regret it, Harvey." She turned away. "Goodbye," she added carelessly, and felt her heart leap into her throat as a strong hand grasped her wrist, swinging her forcefully back around.

"You can't walk away from me," Harvey hissed, looking furious, eyes bright and manic. "You'll regret this, Lily," he added, even as the redhead wrenched her wrist from his grasp, barely refraining from hitting the motherfucker. "I can promise you," he breathed, and Lily felt a chill wriggle down her spine at the fervor and intensity of Harvey's normally calm, mellow gaze. "You'll rue the day you rejected me, Lily," he vowed darkly. "And even more the day you took up with that big muscled, tiny-brained idiot," he growled, "instead of a man who knows you, and loves you, and most of all who understands you, like I do." Hazel eyes rolled and the redhead had heard enough.

"Stay the _hell_ away from me," she declared, and stalked angrily away, feeling much less accomplished than she'd hoped upon setting out.

But Lily knew one thing for certain as she stomped down the stairs, hoping Scorpius would be at her place already, waiting for her to come home from work. No matter what, she'd told Harvey she was done, she'd sneered at him and rubbed his face in the fact she was better off without him, and she felt a sort of vindicated completeness now that one chapter of her life had closed. Because she was excited to start living in her post-Harvey world, where there was Scorpius, and whatever happiness she could find for herself ahead.

XXX


	10. Chapter 10

XXX

She got home as per usual at five thirty that night, stopping by at Mr. Kim's place next door after smelling homemade kimchi, and had dinner with her neighbour, a very kind old retired university professor, and incredible cook. She informed the older man about the shift in her lovelife, a topic Mr. Kim found much delight, and many chances to offer advice, with, and listened with a smile as he expounded all the ways her and Harvey had never been right for one another. Lily also listened to the advice the much older man offered about Scorpius, even if she disregarded the bulk of it. She doubted her lover-turned-semi-boyfriend would want to hear an ultimatum to marry her or have nothing more to do with her.

By the time she unlocked her front door properly, and went into her apartment, she was in a much better mood than before she'd eaten, especially when she'd returned home earlier that morning to an empty apartment, noticeably free of any blond, sexy men. Good old Mr. Kim and his food. It was always a good time having dinner with the old man, and she enjoyed his quick wit and sharp tongue after a long workday.

She got changed and was just picking up her cell to phone Scorpius, wondering if he was free that evening when there was a knock at her door. A slow smile lit her face when she opened the door to find her best friend Daphne on the other side, holding a plastic shopping bag that looked heavy in one hand, a paper bag moulded to the shape of a wine bottle in the other. "Daph!" she said, opening the door wider, but then her smile dropped. "Uh oh."

Because upon seeing Lily, and the redhead's pleased greeting, the other woman's face had crumpled, leaving her looking sad and miserable. "I need sympathy, because men are awful, and the only use they have is their sex drives and the thing in their pants medical science and sex shops haven't been able to properly substitute yet," Daphne said, and Lily pulled her best friend into a hug.

"C'mon in, darling," she cooed, knowing what her bestie needed was a sympathetic, nurturing night of wine and junk food, because she smacked of being screwed over in her love life. The signs were still fresh in memory after Lily had seen them in her own reflection not so long ago. "What are you getting on your pizza, doll?" the redhead asked reaching for her phone as Daphne wilted onto the couch.

"Extra pepperoni, onions, and double cheese," she sighed, pulling the wine out of the paper bag, and plonking the plastic bag atop Lily's coffee table. The redhead grimaced. Extra pepperoni, onions, and double cheese was the official heartbreak order, and even as the redhead tapped out the number for her favourite pizza place, she went to fetch wine glasses and spoons for the tub of triple chocolate ice cream Daphne was cracking open.

"I want all the details, girl," Lily said, then placed her order quickly for delivery. Extra large pizza, all Daphne's favourite toppings, and a side order of french fries, for Lily herself. She gave out her address, was told her order would arrive in approximately thirty minutes, and joined her bestie on the couch to eat ice cream and commiserate.

To Lily's surprise, Daphne handed her her cellphone, a sleek, black, ultra high tech and top of the line model, and the redhead looked down at her friend's last text messages with her boy toy. "He dumped me through a text," Daphne sighed, pouring them generous glasses of wine. Lily, who was reading the message, scowled. "Apparently I'm nothing more than a good lay," she said, and Lily hugged her friend close, even as Daphne's blue eyes sparkled with tears. "And to think, I spent two whole months trying to prove to that dick that I'm not a whore, even if I slept with two of his friends before him, and even told that sexy guy at the car wash I was taken, when I bet he'd have given me a way better night than fucking Kevin!"

"He's a loser," Lily said firmly, handing the cell phone back. "A loser, and an idiot, and an absolute fucking pig for thinking you're only good for a great lay." The redhead pushed the wine glass into Daphne's hand, even as she sipped from her own. "You're gorgeous, and smart, and he's obviously just insecure with himself, honey."

Daphne smiled sadly, then gulped some wine down. "True as that may be, girl, I'm still single and lonely."

Lily pulled her friend into a hug again. "You might be alone, for now, Daph, but you're not going to be lonely. If I know you, which I like to think I do after all these years, you'll find a good dick within the week."

Daphne sighed. "Honestly, though, Lils? The worst part is, I thought maybe, this time around, I'd found a decent man with a good dick. One to settle down with. I mean, he was obviously flawed, and obviously I can do so much better, blah blah blah, but Kevin was…" She sighed again. "I thought he might be worth giving up the revolving door of dicks." The redhead blinked. Sure, she'd know her bestie had fallen hard for her as of now ex, but Lily hadn't ever thought Daphne wanted to 'settle down'. "I know, plot twist, right?" Daphne said, draining her wine glass. "But I kind of want a real, honest to God relationship. Not another hook up, or one night stand, or even a fling. I want stability, and long-term, and maybe kind of permanent."

Lily refilled her wine. "You know what that means," she murmured, arching a brow.

"I know. You're rubbing off on me, girl. And I'm getting old. Ew."

Lily laughed, even as there was a knock at the door, and rolled her eyes. Figures. They say thirty minutes, and twenty minutes later the pizza shows up. "You're not getting old, Daph. You're finally maturing," the redhead said over her shoulder as she grabbed up her purse

"I don't want to be mature. I just want to come home to the same great lay every night, and know that in the morning, I won't be sneaking out or trying to convince some troglodyte to get the hell out of my flat."

"Let me rephrase; you're becoming sexually mature," the redhead said, and opened the door she hadn't bothered locking after Daphne's arrival. For a beat she was confused as to why Scorpius was standing there, instead of some teenaged pizza delivery kid, and then she smiled, because he looked surprised. "Oh shit, you're not my pizza," she said, even as she moved to throw her arms around his neck and pull him down to kiss him in greeting.

"Not tonight," he said, and then looked over Lily's shoulder to where his cousin sat, looking limp and sad, on Lily's couch. "Uh oh, I hope I'm not-"

"Er," Lily said, even as Daphne looked round, saw her best friend hugging her latest male interest, and burst into tears.

"Fuck, this isn't fair!" the darker haired woman whined. "You got dumped by your loser boyfriend and didn't even have to go looking for a good rebound!"

"Thanks, Daphne," Scorpius said and then looked at Lily, pointedly removing his hands from where they'd automatically gone around her waist. "I'm thinking I should go," he murmured. Lily frowned, wanting Scorpius to stay, and then had a brilliant idea.

"Is your friend Milos still single?" she asked innocently.

"I suppose so," Scorpius replied, and even as blond eyebrows pulled together in confusion, Lily grinned.

"Invite him to dinner," she said, and kissed him far too briefly once more. Scorpius was still confused about why she cared if fucking Milos of all people was single, but Daphne, who he noticed was drinking from her wineglass like it was water, and she had yet to quench her thirst, seemed to understand what Lily was playing at.

"Not happening, Lily," she said firmly.

The redhead instantly turned and pouted at her best friend, going back to the couch to sit with her, leaving Scorpius standing in the still-open doorway. "Why not?" she cajoled. "I've met this guy. He seems sweet. And he makes pancakes, apparently, if he sleeps over." Lily could tell for the tiniest beat Daphne was sorely tempted, but the dark haired woman simply shook her head.

"Oh for God's sake, Scorpius, just come in," she said, rolling her eyes as her older cousin, the one she'd secretly, as a kid, thought was unbearably cool and strived to emulate, shuffled in, closing the door behind himself and pointedly throwing the lock. Then Daphne looked at Lily, and the redhead stared steadily back at her best friend. "I don't think I'm up for some random just staying over," she murmured, looking away.

"But Scorpius can vouch for him!" the redhead declared. "He knows him, I swear." She glanced up at the tall blond who'd moved to hover at the side of the sofa where she was seated. "Come sit, Scorpius, and tell Daph all the wonderful things about Milos. Don't you think they'd be cute together? Or that Milos would at least good rebound material after some shitty asshole decided to dump Daph through a text?"

"Lily!" Daphne hissed, glaring. The redheaded woman simply sighed.

"So what? It happened. It just goes to show how much of a lying, sneaky coward that bastard is," Lily replied.

The blond sat, but didn't look thrilled by the conversation, mostly because he wasn't. Did he want a guy he knew personally having a go with his little cousin? Not particularly. And if it did have to happen, he wanted absolutely no part in it, let alone convincing his cousin to go on a first date with the bastard. "Some dude dumped you through a text?" he asked, pulling a face as he regarded his cousin.

Daphne glared back with surprising venom for a woman who was supposedly heartbroken. "Yeah, by some idiot who also thinks I was kind of a shit girlfriend but a really good lay, so I," she looked at the redhead, drawing a shaky breath, "what was it Lils? Oh yes. I 'lasted longer than I should've regardless'."

Scorpius instantly felt bad and even though part of him wanted to jump up and simply run from Lily's apartment and the situation, he remained seated and tried to think of what the right thing to say might be. "Do you want me to beat the crap out of him?" was the first thing he could think of that wasn't able to be construed as rude, and to his undying relief, his cousin went from almost in tears to laughing.

"I'm going to say no," Daphne finally managed to say, wiping her eyes and sighing, "even though part of me really wants to say yes, because I'm willing to bet you'd actually do it." Her gaze slid to Lily. "This is all your fault."

Hazel eyes rolled. "Puh-lease. If anything, it's Kevin's fault. And come on, Daph. Scorpius and I will even go on a double with you, just in case it's awful and awkward."

Scorpius, who was about to protest this business of double dating, which he personally thought cheesy, and lame, and far more awkward than even his worst first date, fell silent when Lily elbowed him hard and glanced pointedly at his cousin. Daphne seemed to be mulling it over, which was also far from ideal to Scorpius, but he knew his chances of getting any that night, or in the near future, rested on making Lily happy, which meant making Daphne, and probably Milos, very happy. So he bit the figurative bullet, huffed out a sigh, and added pointedly, "I'll even pay."

Daphne smirked, but shook her head, huffing out a sigh. "No," she finally said. "At least, not tonight. Ask me again in a week when I'm desperate," she added at Lily's crestfallen look.

The redhead pouted, then moved to sit next to her friend, leaving Scorpius alone and feeling distinctly nervous as she murmured something in the darker haired woman's ear. Daphne looked shocked, then smirked over at Scorpius, who felt truly uneasy now, knowing he was at the mercy of not only the woman who intrigued him and suspended his common sense far more than was healthy he was sure, but the cousin he knew could be devious. "So what do you think?" Lily asked, grinning and casting Scorpius a smug look that had his cock twitching in his pants.

Daphne grinned, clinked her refilled wineglass against lily's, and said easily, "I think I'd have to be a fool not to say yes after that," she murmured.

Scorpius opened his mouth to ask what Lily had told her, feeling slightly embarrassed, because he was certain it would appeal to Daph's baser instincts, which Scorpius already knew were a lot looser than his own. He almost blushed, hoping Lily hadn't promised Milos would do anything he couldn't guarantee, or that Scorpius himself had done to Lily. Surely even women don't go into that much detail when they talk about sex...right? Before he could say word, however, there was a knock at the door and Lily jumped up, grabbing her purse, to answer it.

"That's definitely our pizza," she said easily, and swung the door open wide, smiling widely at the delivery kid, but as Scorpius glanced round, and saw Lily's smile fall abruptly from her face, he felt his stomach drop in time. "Oh God," the redhead whispered, knees buckling as she stared at whatever was at the door.

Scorpius was up and moving to her even as Daphne said, "Lils, what the hell-?" The blond stopped dead as Lily sank to the floor before her door, hazel and dark grey gazes both pinned on what sat on Lily's doorstep. Daphne joined them in the next moment, even as Scorpius dropped into a crouch and let Lily bury her face in his shoulder as she turned away from the grizzly sight that she'd opened her door to. "Holy shit," Daphne breathed, blue eyes wide, still standing and looking shocked beyond reason.

"Lily," Scorpius said, even as he felt tears beginning to soak into his shirt, the lovely redhead's arms tight around his shoulders. "Lily, do you know who could've-?" he asked gently, even as Lily nodded against his neck.

"There's only one person who would think that's funny," Daphne said soberly, biting her lower lip when Scorpius looked up at her. And then, softer, and far more timid sounding asked, "It's not real is it?"

Scorpius shook his head. He highly doubted it was real, anyway. But still, leaving a fake, very bloody, and entirely gruesome human heart with a knife stabbed through it on someone's doorstep hinted at much deeper emotional issues than a twisted sense of humour. "Lily," Scorpius murmured, trying to pull back so Lily would look at him, even as she clung with surprising strength. "Lily, honey, it's not real," he said, hoping his calm, collected presence would soothe her, even as he felt her starting to lose control.

"He said I might as well have stabbed him in the heart," she whispered, eyes still clenched shut, face averted down as she pulled back from Scorpius. "Harvey," she whispered, eyes red rimmed and puffy from crying. "When we split, after I found out about him fucking that stupid waitress, when I texted him the next day to come and get his shit." Her lower lip wobbled, and Lily pointedly didn't look toward her door. "He said…" she trailed off then swallowed thickly, unable to look Scorpius in the eye, knowing those stormy grey depths would probably be judging her. "He said he didn't think we'd really just be over like that. Said he thought we shouldn't give up. And then, when I said no, he said I might as well have stabbed him in the heart."

Scorpius, who'd gone almost unnaturally still, stood up. "I have to make a call," he said stiffly, and stepped out, carefully closing Lily's front door.

"Harvey's fucked, Lily," Daphne said firmly, helping her friend to stand, wrapping an arm around both of the redhead's shoulders. "Absolutely fucked in the head, just like we both knew the second he cheated on you." She squeezed Lily tight. "But he's just trying to play games, hoping you'll come back to him I bet. I'm sure when he realizes you're so beyond over him, Harvey will fuck off."

Lily nodded mutely, eyes darting back to her closed front door, heart heavy. Sure, she knew it was just a sick, twisted joke, but for a moment, when she'd seen it, Lily had feared the very worst. That maybe Harvey, a man she loathed to be sure, but still wished no ill on, even if he deserved it, had done something stupid and crazy. For a second, when she'd looked at that goddamn plastic, fake-blood covered heart, she'd thought it might have been his, that Harvey had offed himself, and it was all her fault. And now, she was positive, Scorpius was wondering if she was worth all the headaches that came with being with her while in the midst of her psycho ex boyfriend attempting to ruin her life, and she braced herself internally for the idea Scorpius wasn't coming back at all. That he'd simply run for the hills at the first chance.

She wouldn't blame him. If he had some crazy ex girlfriend pulling the same kind of shit, no matter how much she found herself liking Scorpius more and more, in every way, she'd probably peace out too. Which only made Lily's eyes fill with tears again, because she felt irrationally safe with the tall, ripped blond man, and he'd been so great thus far, it would hurt twice as bad if he left her too.

To her surprise, Scorpius stepped back in a few minutes later, after Lily's wineglass had been topped up and her mouth fell open as Scorpius came in, bearing their pizza and fries, and grinning. "Hey," he said easily, sitting almost gingerly down beside the redhead, whose lower lip was trembling again. And he knew just what would both distract her and cheer her up. "You still up for that double, honey? Because Milos is free tonight, and, quote 'more than ready' to take your bestie and my baby cousin out for dinner, even if she chooses to skip pancakes tomorrow morning."

Daphne blushed, but Lily felt herself starting to smile slowly, then set her wine down to hug the massive blond. He hadn't questioned her, or babied her, and simply gave her something better to focus on than her self doubt and fear that came from Harvey twisted little prank. "You're awesome," she breathed, and let out a long, shaky breath. "Thank you, Scorpius."

The blond simply smiled, hoping he'd made the right decision, and leaned in to kiss her chastely. "You're welcome."

XXX


	11. Chapter 11

XXX

Two Weeks Later

Lily glared across the massive master bedroom of Scorpius's condo at her almost-boyfriend. "This isn't fair!" she snapped for the seventh time since they'd started arguing.

Scorpius frowned, obviously not pleased by the situation either, even as he strode from the bathroom, hair still damp, to stand beside her in the massive walk-in closet wearing only his underwear. Lily was in a similar state of undress, perusing her selection of dresses, trying to find the black one she knew looked like she was going to a Gothic funeral. Because, in a way, she was. Her parents already knew Scorpius, and when she brought him to dinner as her boyfriend, instead of him appearing as her brother's friend, but as her _date_ , Lily knew her family was going to be upset. Especially after the most recent Harvey incident. Lily shifted, still uncomfortable with the way that had played out, and pushed through it, trying to stay mad and disgruntled enough she wouldn't be hurt by her family's pending outrage. At least, most of them. Okay, it was mostly just one person she knew would take major issue with it, but that was enough.

"Life isn't fair," Scorpius said tersely, plucking a white dress shirt from a hanger and slipping it over his shoulders.

"Stop being mature and understanding about this," Lily growled, unable to find the damned dress. She snatched up a royal blue garment instead, grumpy about everything. "It's not fair, and I know you're pissed about it, too."

"Being a grump doesn't alleviate anything," he replied, and smirked a tiny bit as Lily stepped into her dress and slid the straps on.

"Yes it does," she snapped back. "Zip me up, please," she growled, offering her back to him, shifting her mane of hair over one shoulder.

"You're being dramatic, honey," he teased, zipping her dress after doing up his trousers and pressed a tender kiss to the nape of her neck. "And you're just riling yourself up further."

Lily sighed. "Well I'm pissed; this is bullcrap!" she grumbled. Scorpius chuckled aloud a little. She glared at him over her shoulder as he pulled back to finish getting dressed. "It's not funny! Stop laughing at me, or I won't go shooting with you again."

"It's kind of funny," Scorpius said reasonably. "You pretty much live with me, and yet you're nervous that I'm having dinner with your parents, which I've done before. Numerous times."

Lily scowled. "It's not funny," she declared yet again. "My parents don't know that I'm _temporarily_ staying here anyway, so there won't be any mentioning it, unless you feel like explaining to my mother why you think it's appropriate to live with me without proposing. Hell, my mom was barely okay with Harvey staying over weekends at my place and we'd been dating forever, let alone someone I've been seeing for less than a month!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Duly noted," he said and Lily sighed, because she hadn't meant to make it seem like he was comparing her relationship with Scorpius to that of the one she'd shared with her ex. Unlike Harvey, where things had progressed slowly, and as they matured, things with Scorpius had flashed hot and fast, and just kept getting hotter. It was as if they'd hit some kind of fast forward button, and even though she still barely knew him, at least time wise, Lily found herself falling hard for the tall, sexy blond. With Harvey, she'd literally been together with him for two years before she'd thought she might be in love with him, truly in love and not just infatuated. Then again, she reckoned, the start of her relationship with Harvey had been distinctly less dramatic than the start of things with Scorpius.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, because she was taking out her frustration at the situation on Scorpius, even though he'd been nothing short of amazing since she'd first bumped into him.

The tall blond merely kissed the corner of her mouth teasingly in reply, enticing her into turning her head to kiss him properly, groaning as his tongue darted out to taste her lower lip. "Don't be," he murmured after finally pulling back, leaving Lily a panting, half-horny mess. "You're right, the situation is shit, and I know you're not happy, but after that slick bastard got past your locks…" Lily looked up into stormy grey eyes that roved over her face intensely, as if cataloging every single iota of it to memory before returning to her hazel gaze. "Let's just say this is better than any alternatives that might equally satisfy me."

Lily's mouth quirked down, because she didn't need anyone, let alone some man, to run her life for her, whether for her protection or not, _thanks very fucking much_. But there was also something sinfully delightfully about the say Scorpius said 'satisfy', that rubbed her libido precisely the right way, and something decidedly endearing that he felt so strongly the need to protect her. And, she wasn't too proud to admit, after the Harvey incident, as she'd begun referring to it, she wasn't too keen on being all alone in her apartment either.

Which was why when Scorpius had suggested she move in, temporarily, with him, she'd agreed. She just hadn't thought her semi-boyfriend would be quite so overprotective that had she refused, he'd have found some other way of keeping her safe. It was almost unbearable and definitely gave her the urge to pick a fight about it, because she wasn't an imbecile, or incapable of protecting herself, of course. But she'd had most of the men in her life, even Albus to some extent, act with that level of paranoia about her safety, so she reckoned she was more fond of feeling like he had her back more than anything.

"Are we ready to go?" she asked after lifting onto her toes, raising both arms up to wrap around Scorpius's neck, face burying into his neck with ease of familiarity, breathing in the delicious smell of him. She was trying to convey without words she was both grateful for his help in what would have been, without him, a thoroughly terrifying and stressful time, and the hope that they were still good after her little outburst.

"Mmm, almost," Scorpius breathed, and she groaned against his mouth as he pushed his hands through her hair, messing it up thoroughly and making her look precisely, when he pulled back at last, like a veritable sex goddess. "Alright, let's go."

Lily who felt a burst of confidence after that kiss, was back to being a nervous wreck when they finally got into Scorpius's very nice car. She couldn't help but think of how much the last couple weeks had changed her life, and part of her was almost terrified at how much trust she was placing in Scorpius, a man she barely even knew, and yet had trusted implicitly. She couldn't help but think, as they drove to Sunday dinner, about the last two weeks, and the ups and downs that she'd faced.

The first half had been, in a word, amazing. She'd felt surprisingly energetic and upbeat for all her classes, and couldn't help smiling nonstop. Even after all her usual load of paperwork and the agonizing time she'd spent poring over her books to make sure all her bills would be paid, Lily felt the best she had in years. Especially when she woke up in bed with the tall sexy blond, who'd all but spent the weekend with her following Harvey's gruesome little prank. Although it wasn't every morning that first week, Lily had to admit, the few times it had happened most certainly contributed to her recent boost of happiness.

They'd made plans for her to teach him yoga on Friday, followed by another trip to the shooting range for Saturday, and Lily was looking forward to both dates, and the promise of another weekend spent entirely with Scorpius. So on Friday, after she'd bid the last stragglers goodnight after her late afternoon class, Scorpius had shown up, looking slightly intimidated, for their planned private yoga lesson. She smiled brightly at the blond's obvious discomfiture as she locked them into her studio and lead him back through the main area to a white door.

Despite her promises to make him hurt in places he hadn't thought he could hurt, Lily actually planned to go relatively easy on Scorpius, because she was more than hoping he'd still fuck her into screaming incoherency when they got home. And if that didn't happen, she didn't want to spend the evening with a man whining about strained muscles and sore joints along with a night of self-inflicted celibacy too. She opened the door and flicked a single light switch, then strode to the front of the room with confidence.

"Come in, Scorpius, and close that door behind you. This room won't stay warm with you letting all my humidity out," she teased as he hovered just inside the door, looking around warily at the partly lit room and then back at her. She stood at the front of her hot room and stripped her tank top, revealing her sleek, strappy black sports bra. Scorpius took a few steps forward.

"It's significantly hotter in here than the rest of your studio," Scorpius commented, the door closing with a soft click behind him.

Lily grinned as his stormy grey gaze dropped lower, watching her slide out of her leggings, revealing a matching black thong beneath. "There's also no windows," the redhead added, smiling. "This is my hot room. For the Bikram class I hold three times a week, and the bi-weekly beginner's hot yoga."

Scorpius nodded, looking curiously at her as she moved forward to close the gap between them, smoothing both hands up his stomach and chest, under his black cotton t-shirt, unable to resist feeling every perfect, muscled ridge of him. "I hope you don't remove your pants for any of your classes," he said, dipping his head to brush her lips with his, and Lily chuckled huskily.

"Not usually. You're a special case, though, and I thought you'd at least appreciate the reminder of what you'll be taking home." Scorpius groaned low in his throat, eyes darkening, and Lily felt a thrill of elated arousal jolt through her core as he kissed her, holding her firmly by the chin and pushing his tongue with hungry dominance into her mouth.

The long, lean redhead lifted onto her toes eagerly, unable to help arching against Scorpius, half considering just skipping the yoga and shoving her boyfriend down right there to ride him into oblivion as they kissed hungrily. Instead she pulled back, extricating herself from Scorpius's grip on her ass and hair, where his hands usually migrated, and turned around to head back to the front. She was pleasantly surprised to find Scorpius following like a well-trained puppy, and then laughed when he spanked her right ass cheek teasingly. "I'm not sure I want to wait until home time," the blond rumbled, fondling the luscious curve of her backside with his palm before sliding his hand inward, over the crotch of her sleek black thong.

"You'll have to," she replied, stepping away from his roving hand. "We made a deal, Malfoy, and I'm holding you to it." She turned and slid a hand, in retaliation, over the line of his half hard cock inside his athletic shorts.

"Damn."

She smiled and stepped back. "Did you stretch?"

"Of course," Scorpius replied cockily, and Lily shrugged. It would be worse for him if he hadn't. "Am I going to get a demonstration before we begin?" he asked.

"Of course," Lily shot back, smirking with him, and slapped at his hand as he reached out to spank her again. "But you'll have to cease and desist with the distractions," she added sternly.

"If you insist."

"Sit," she said, pointing to one of the two mats she'd laid out, then moved to reposition the other one as he acquiesced, making sure he'd have a front row seat. "I'm going to go through it once, introduce you to all the poses, then you'll have to follow along, and I'll correct where need be," she said, rolling out her neck and shoulders. Scorpius nodded and she turned and bent to touch her toes enjoying his grunt of approval.

"Ready?" she asked, standing once more and turning back to face Scorpius. He nodded, his grey eyes dark and intent on her, and Lily smiled. "Watch close." She moved through the poses at a medium pace, breathing deep and focusing on herself, and then, after she'd finished, watched Scorpius for his reaction. He looked amused.

"Is this supposed to hurt me?" he asked. Lily simply smiled.

"Of course not. Now get up, and we'll go through the poses I want you to hit, and the transitions, at the beginner pace." Her breathing hitched and hazel eyes widened, pupils almost blowing the colour from her eyes completely with how fast they dilated, as Scorpius eased his t-shirt off. She licked her lips as the cotton fluttered to the floor, revealing the broad shoulders and chiseled abs that made Lily's libido crank into overdrive and had her, once again, barely resisting the urge to throw Scorpius down and have her wicked way with him. "And don't think I'm going to be distracted even if you strip naked," she added huskily, hazel gaze dropping to the deliciously well-defined V of his Adonis belt despite her declaration.

Scorpius grinned, and Lily stopped breathing altogether as he teased the waistband of his shorts, but resumed as he merely readjusted them. "Always worth a try," he replied in a rough, utterly sexy voice. Lily pried her gaze from the tempting planes and hollows of Scorpius's naked body, along with the parts she could fill in from memory alone, and focused on the task at hand.

Lily wasn't at all surprised that when they made it back, after an hour long session that pushed Scorpius, despite his earlier cockiness, to his limits, to the blond's apartment, there was only one thing on her almost-boyfriend's mind. And she didn't mind at all that it seemed to be getting her naked and hopefully horizontal for ravishing as soon as possible, although standing upright against the doorjamb to his bedroom was also close to being acceptable.

By the time Scorpius had gotten them both naked and situated in his massive bed overlooking the ocean, buried balls deep in her and making Lily's eyes roll back in bliss with the maddeningly slow, utterly perfect deep pace he'd set, the redheaded woman had given up entirely on ever persuading Scorpius into taking up yoga seriously. But she also couldn't deny, when he put himself to it, there wasn't much she reckoned Scorpius couldn't do. Hell, she'd made sure he hit every pose she'd chosen perfectly before heading back to his, just to be sure Scorpius understood her life after all. And now that he'd shown himself not only able but willing to take a walk in her shoes and see it wasn't all just stretching and showmanship, Lily had no doubts he might just be the sort of man she needed in her life. Even after all the years with Harvey, she'd never managed to sweet talk, nag, barter or bribe him into coming to even a normal beginner's yoga class. That Scorpius was so keen on it spoke volumes to the redhead, even if it was only to be just that once, right out of the gate made Lily's heart melt a little, her like deepening dangerously.

When Lily woke up the next morning entwined with Scorpius, who still seemed to be sleeping, his breaths deep and even, eyes closed and mouth parted ever so slightly, she couldn't help smiling. She had no idea how she'd come to be so extraordinarily lucky to find a man not only as gorgeous, but as kind and loyal and utterly perfect for her as Scorpius was, but Lily found herself feeling immensely grateful she'd bumped into him as she looked at his smooth, sleeping visage.

So grateful in fact, she didn't hesitate to slide a hand down his chest, over the firm ridges and planes of his torso and stomach, to glide gentle fingertips over his half cocked erection. She watched his breathing change ever so slightly, then smiled again as she slithered downward and pressed a tender kiss to her favourite of his appendages. His stomach went solid for a beat, before it sunk in sharply with his breath and Lily's lips curled into a pleased grin as she tossed her hair and looked up into the sleepy but heated grey eyes of the man she found herself falling for.

Before either could either continue, or turn the tables, as the dark hue of Scorpius's eyes and the way he smiled slowly down at her indicated he might have tried doing, the sharp sound of frantic knocking at Scorpius's front door interrupted them. It was immediately followed by the telltale buzz of vibration announcing a call to Scorpius's phone from the direction of his pants, crumpled up on the floor. Lily couldn't help but feel a jolt of terror, but held it in as she sat up, then froze as there came more knocking, this time in a specific pattern.

Instantly the blond was up from bed, throwing the sheet aside and stepping hastily into his boxer briefs, putting a warning finger to her lips as he snatched up his Ruger from the night stand. Lily, still frozen, her pulse still thumping with desire but now laced with adrenaline and panic, watched him disappear out of the bedroom. For a beat, Lily was still rooted into place, half expecting the unknown worst, but then, when there was only silence, curiosity got the better of her.

She wrapped the sheet around herself and climbed out of Scorpius's bed, shuffling as quietly as she could to the door, trailing her makeshift robe behind her, and then Lily paused, holding her breath, at the sound of faint voices. She could only assume they were coming from the front door, but the redhead was certain one of them was Scorpius, and the other, she reckoned, was his second in charge. The words were muffled, so she leaned closer, trying to pick them out, not caring if she was technically eavesdropping.

"I don't want this getting out," said the soft, concise voice that held the weight of authority that she presumed belonged to Scorpius.

"There might not be a way for you t-" the slightly deeper, much more melodic sounding voice murmured back, and Lily's brows pulled together in confusion as she leaned in closer still.

"I know," Scorpius interrupted with an exasperated sigh, and she could picture him pushing a hand through his already mussed hair in frustration. "I want to catch this bastard out, but if what you're telling me is true…" Lily could picture her almost boyfriend frowning, mouth drawn into a firm line that gave almost nothing except his displeasure away, and then maybe pacing on the spot, like a caged animal just itching to get at its captors.

"It's true, Cap," the deep voice rumbled, and Lily leaned further still toward the hall, trying to hear everything, even if she wasn't sure of the context personally. "I was there myself." There was a muffled curse, and Lily, this time, wasn't sure who'd uttered it.

"I want to just - just fucking…" Scorpius growled, not finishing his sentence, and probably holding back the urge to. "We're going to get this guy," he said, and Lily gulped because she could hear the passion in Scorpius's voice. And she could picture him, when she closed her eyes, glaring defiantly at his right hand, his wide shoulders set back, proud chin tilted up, and grey eyes hard.

"Cap," came the reply, so low, Lily had to strain and lean right up against the door jamb to hear. "Don' you think you might be a little too... _close_ , to this one?"

The redhead cringed, because she could picture poor Herc receiving the full force of Scorpius's most loathing glare. "No," came the short, gruff response.

"A'ight. I'll be sure to head off the call, then," Herc replied after a beat, and Lily heard Scorpius sighing once more. "Don' worry, Cap. We'll get him."

"I know," Scorpius said, and Lily froze, because she was positive she misheard the words he said next. Because falling for Scorpius she most definitely was, but she hadn't dared hope her sexy blond lover turned more might feel the same. But, unless her hearing had gone entirely, or she'd simply imagined the words, she could have sworn Scorpius said, "I just don't know if I'll ever be close enough, Herc."

There was the muffled sound of a large hand clapping over a shoulder, even as Lily, still numb with shock and surprise and an unmistakably warm feeling flooding her chest, shuffled slowly and silently back to the bed, vaguely hearing the door close and Scorpius's return. "Everything alright?" she asked, her mouth feeling funny as it formed the words when she both heard and felt Scorpius stop just inside the doorway to his bedroom.

"You heard," Scorpius replied, and when haze eyes flicked up to look at him, almost as though seeing him in a whole new light, she saw he looked troubled.

"Kind of," she admitted, biting her lip and looking down. She tried to stop the words replaying across her memory, tried to squash the bubble of bliss that rose within her at hearing them again, even in her mind, brought.

Scorpius sighed once more, moving forward, and placing his gun very gently down in its usual home on his bedside table. "I'm sorry," he said solemnly, and Lily, feeling her bubble of bliss pop abruptly, jerked her head up abruptly, looking at the blond man who just apologized for admitting he might be falling for her. Which put her, instantly, on edge, like maybe he was regretting the growing feelings for her in the wake of her troubling predicament with an ex who was bothersome.

"Why?" demanded.

Scorpius's brows shot up. "I didn't think…" He trailed off, looking at her, and then sat down beside her in bed, looking at her hands as if tempted to grasp one. Lily glared, her heart beating too fast, certain she was about to be told point blank her almost boyfriend couldn't handle it, that he was feeling too much, and was about to end things. "Wait, what did you hear?" he asked.

Lily gulped, knowing she could never repeat the words. "Enough," she replied stiffly, still braced for rejection, her shoulders and jaw tense.

Scorpius's dark grey eyes trailed over her suspiciously, trying to read her by facial expression and body language alone, but he was feeling like he was, maddeningly, missing a major piece of the puzzle. "Look, I don't know how to put this, but..." he said slowly, trying for delicacy. After all, he may have had his fair share of delivering unpleasant news, but that was usually to strangers, or people he hardly knew, not the woman he was starting to care for far more than he reckoned was healthy in so short a time.

"It's okay, you can just say you don't want to see me anymore," Lily said firmly, turning away from him.

Almost simultaneously, Scorpius nutted up and blurted out, "I think you should probably move in with me."

Lily blinked, looking shocked, and then her cheeks started filling with a boiling blush. For a beat, the blond merely stared at her. "What?" he finally asked, unable to make whatever synaptic leaps Lily had made without him.

"Uh, sorry?" Lily said, still looking embarrassed and shocked. "You want me to-?"

"You thought I was going to-?"

"I mean I thought-" Lily began, right as Scorpius hastened to explain.

"I just figured what with the locks on your flat being destroyed and the message from your ex, you'd-"

Lily's jaw dropped as her brows shot into her hairline and the blond broke off at her look of surprise. " _He did what_!?" she screeched, and Scorpius winced.

Needless to say, Lily had spent most of that day either filing her police report, once she'd demanded Scorpius take her back to her place to see just what had apparently gone down, or vacillating between extreme anger after seeing the wreckage, yet again, of her apartment, and holding in the urge to cry and fall apart at the seams. The last thing she needed, especially now after sticking her foot in her mouth like an idiot, was yet _another_ reason for Scorpius to realize she was far from his best option for a significant other.

That Sunday she was far too busy, having pushed all her chores and errands aside the day before to simply hang out with Scorpius at his place after he moved the few necessary items from hers to his in secrecy with the help of Herc. She hadn't necessarily _wanted_ to move in with a guy she barely knew, let alone had hardly dated a few weeks, but she hadn't felt comfortable staying in her apartment after seeing the way her locks had been destroyed and the message her ex had left either. And so, Lily had skipped dinner with her parents, sending a text that promised she was good, but too tired after a busy weekend. Of course, that excuse had gone over like a lead balloon, but then Lily told her mother, privately, she'd simply been too busy with Scorpius, and found she wasn't bothered past lunch on Monday about it.

And now, as they finally pulled into her parents' driveway in Scorpius's very respectable Lexus, Lily was running through a list of excuses to back right back out of the drive and go home. Before she could say a word, however, Scorpius shifted them into park and turned to face her. "You don't have to tell them, Lily," he said very softly, his dark grey gaze calm and steady, and she leaned into the warm, solid strength of his palm as he cupped her face.

"I really do," she breathed, closing her eyes and smiling a little ruefully. She was positive her father and oldest brother already knew all about the police report she filed, and she could only _imagine_ how awfully the news she was staying with Scorpius, however temporarily, would go over to boot. She swallowed, then summoned her courage and opened her eyes, putting her hand over Scorpius's much larger one on her face and turning her head enough to kiss his palm. "But thanks," she whispered. "I'm not sure how I happened to find you, but I'm kind of really glad I did," she admitted, then promptly blushed and looked away, cursing her fair skin and the damnable warmth in her chest as she felt Scorpius's lips brush over her hairline at the center of her forehead.

"You assaulted me in a grocery store, remember?" Scorpius replied in a whisper, and Lily laughed, pulling back and feeling much better on the whole.

"Stop," she said, rolling her eyes, and opened her car door after unclicking her seatbelt. Scorpius followed suit and slid an arm around her waist as they headed up the walk.

"You're dreaming if you think I'm going to, honey," he rumbled against her ear, even as they drew level with the front door. Lily shot him a quelling look, but a slow, mischievous grin slowly spread over Scorpius's face. "Oh, this is going to be brilliant," he added, chuckling as the redhead elbowed him and headed inside. He followed hot on her heels, cupping the curve of her bum with one hand, making a point to firmly grasp the meaty cheek for a beat. Lily's glare only served to make him more determined, and Scorpius, although he was loathe to admit it, was embarrassingly excited to prove to his almost-girlfriend he wanted her no matter what life might want to throw at them, even if it happened to be her psycho ex. He was, finally, moving on from his own personal demons, and he was looking forward to a future with Lily, who he _would_ protect, no matter the cost.

XXX

 **AUTHOR"S NOTE** : Super sorry this took a million years. But, on the flipside, y'all got a longer than I anticipated chapter, so...y'know, there's that. Thanks again to everyone who reads and enjoys, and especially the lovely people who review! Every single one of you is loved and appreciated.


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